Minutes of the

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

March 18, 2004

The meeting was called to order by Chair Gary Skoien at approximately 10:12 a.m. in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of Holmes Student Center.  Acting Recording Secretary Barbara Rice conducted a roll call of Trustees.  Members present were Trustees Robert Boey, Manuel Sanchez, Myron Siegel, Student Trustee Kevin Miller and Chair Skoien.  Present via teleconference was Trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella.  Not present was Trustee George Moser.  Also present were Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson and President John Peters.  With a quorum present, the meeting proceeded.

Confirmation of Open Meetings Act public notice compliance was provided by Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.

Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson stated that the Item for election of the Board of Trustees Secretary replacement was stricken from the agenda and was no longer a part of the agenda for this meeting.  After discussion with President Peters and review of the printed agenda before us, Chair Skoien said, I propose creation of a Consent Agenda that would immediately precede the beginning of the President’s Report for today’s meeting, and move President's Report Number 39, Action Items 9.a.(3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (11), (12), (14), (15), (16) and 9.c.(1) and our receipt of Information Items 9.b.(3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and 9.c.(2) to that Consent Agenda.  I would also propose adding an Honorary Resolution for approval under the Chair’s Report.  The Chair asked for a motion to approve the revised meeting agenda.  Trustee Sanchez made a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended.  Student Trustee Miller seconded the motion.  The motion was approved.

It was moved by Trustee Boey and seconded by Trustee Sanchez to approve the minutes of the December 4, 2003 Board of Trustees Meeting.  The motion was approved.

As usual, Chair Skoien commented, we have an extremely full agenda before us this morning.    Our spring agenda always fills up quickly as we work a semester ahead and prepare even now for the fall.  We have a number of important matters to take up this morning, as well as several reports to hear, and I would like to begin by offering a few comments on some of those issues.

Much of our attention, at this point, is directed toward budget issues.  I know that I speak for all of my colleagues here when I say that we remain deeply concerned about the erosion of state support, and perhaps even more importantly, the continuing uncertainty under which this university and all of public higher education in Illinois must operate.  We know that this campus community is hungry for budget information, and I applaud President Peters for the manner in which he keeps faculty and staff informed about new developments.  I also know that he shares our frustration with the lack of information under which we sometimes must operate.  In light of that uncertainty, it is an even greater credit to this president and our chief financial officer that NIU has maintained such an enviable level of stability.  We have avoided layoffs.  We have avoided program eliminations.  We have even managed to provide small salary increments.  These are the signs of a well-managed institution.

At the same time, neither the administration nor this Board is unaware of the sacrifices being made on the front lines of the university.  We know that the faculty are teaching more and larger classes.  We know that some areas have been forced to cut back on support services and important instructional equipment.  We know that students are being asked to think further ahead in their course scheduling and be more flexible in all aspects of their academic program planning.  We know that staff at all levels are doing more with less.

Most of all, we wish we could predict with some certainty what the future holds and when we can expect more reasonable levels of state support.  Absent a crystal ball, the best we can do is to continue to keep the campus community apprised of new developments and to pledge to continue our own efforts in Springfield and elsewhere. 

At present, we are looking at a Fiscal Year 2005 budget recommendation from the Governor that reduces our state revenue 1.5 percent below the current fiscal year level.  We have also been told to hold back another 2 percent for FY05 for what is being termed an “emergency fund” – but there are no specific instructions about what that means.  Both this Board and this president have gone on record in support of the budget recommendations by the Illinois Board of Higher Education which has recommended that the state support for 2005 remain at the 2004 level.  We believe that public higher education has contributed more than its fair share to help solve the state’s budget problems, and we urge legislators to put the brakes on the precipitous decline in state support.

Finally, I want to express my personal gratitude, as well as that of my fellow Trustees, to all the NIU faculty and staff who continue to offer our region top-level teaching, research and public service.  Your general good humor and perseverance are much appreciated.

One of the financial issues we are going to deal with again this morning is the setting of student fees for next year.  Again, I want to compliment Dr. Peters, Dr. Williams and their staffs for creating and nurturing a fee process that is extremely participatory.  Student members of the fee committee have extensive access to information about costs, revenues and other variables, and that allows them to make fully‑informed decisions about how to support various campus services like the bus system and health service and facility upgrades like the West Campus development.

Another issue we will vote on today is that of faculty sabbaticals.  Without going into too much detail, I would like to say that my colleagues and I have learned a great deal over the years about the sabbatical process and have become very strong supporters.  We have heard presentations about new work, new research directions, new curricula and instructional innovations, and incredible public service undertaken during sabbaticals that have made us true believers in the value of the process.

Many of you know I have just become a father again for the third time.  It is a very exciting time for us as we are watching our sons enter preschool and thinking about our daughter’s future education.  I am in a unique position as the chair of a university board with children just beginning their formal education, and it is one of the reasons I am so excited about the leadership role NIU has taken in the realm of school‑university partnerships.  A little later this morning, we are going to hear and see a presentation about what NIU calls the P‑20 Initiative, which stands for “preschool through graduate school” initiative.    This is something President Peters launched a little over a year ago, and from what I have seen so far, I think all of us are going to be extremely impressed and proud of how much progress has been made already.  To President Peters, Vice President Anne Kaplan and her staff, and to Vice Provost Gip Seaver and the deans, let me say that we are very excited about your work and very much looking forward to learning more about the P-20 Initiative.

I would also be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank all of the faculty and staff involved in our recent Higher Learning Commission accreditation visit.  To Virginia Cassidy and Jan Rintala in particular, I offer thanks on behalf of the entire Board for all of your work over the past two years in preparation for the visit.  I am going to ask President Peters to comment in more detail about that process later on, but I would say at this time that the Board was very gratified with the early reports. Of course, we were not surprised that the accreditation team would give NIU high marks, but some of the specific strengths they found here were really quite validating.  Trustee Vella, Trustee Boey, Student Trustee Miller and I had a chance to have lunch with the committee.  It was a very interesting opportunity.  And one of the things I assume you are not going to mention in the report is the laudatory comments that they had for our president.  They were very impressed by his communication with the university, the management skills he exhibited and how he has really put things together here during his tenure.

During the luncheon, Trustee Boey commented, we noticed that the chair of the team was also a member of the team that came to NIU ten years ago, so she had a bird’s‑eye view of the changes of ten years ago versus now.  And she really had a lot of interesting and very positive things to say about the university and the leadership.

Many of the issues we’ll be talking about today have a strong focus on the future, Chair Skoien continued.  As a still relatively‑new governing body, we feel that we have reached a point as a board where we need to engage the university in dialogue about longer‑term planning.   As one of the accreditation site visit team members said to me, it is difficult to get a quick fix on NIU.  This is a very complex institution with a rich history and a very unique role in a fast-growing region.  I believe the time has come – and President Peters and I have had many conversations on this topic – for us to address long‑term planning and positioning for this university.  This need was born out in the Higher Learning Commission visit, our self‑study and our rapid progress in the past few years:  We need to revisit our mission, our position in the state and region, and our identity as it is communicated to the rest of the world.  It is increasingly clear to all of us that we have entered an era in which demand for public higher education is going to far outstrip our ability to supply those services.  Given the increased demand for an NIU education, we must be sure we have a solid enrollment management policy.  We must clarify our academic focus and research strengths.  And we must speak with one NIU voice.  All of these efforts will help us make the best use of the resources – which are many – that we do have, will help our graduates recognize the value of the education they have received at NIU, and will help maximize our efforts to raise private funds.

The reality in which we must undertake all of those tasks is one without new resources.  The challenge is to find new ways of focusing existing resources on our most critical needs, period.

As most of you know, I am a businessman.  I think this is one instance in which we would do well to take some examples from the business world and link our long‑term planning to specific university goals.  To this end, and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am asking President Peters to begin work on two of these important planning issues.  The first outcome we would like to see, for lack of a better description, is clarification of the NIU message and mission.  Neither the constraints of our budget nor the demands of a competitive market allow this university to be all things to all people.  We have specific strengths and a unique identity, and we simply need to align our efforts and resources in support of what we do best.  Second, with the departure of our athletic director, we are asking President Peters to lay the groundwork which will sustain the academic excellence and integrity of our program and capitalize on the recent success of our football team and other sports.  We do not need to look further than last fall’s football success to see the positive impact athletics can have on NIU’s reputation, the quality of students it is able to attract, and the interest that it creates amongst alumni and donors, which feeds the mission of the university, which is education and research.

Finally, there was some really big news that came out of DeKalb this month, and that is the imminent departure of Athletic Director Cary Groth.  Many things have been said over the past week and half about Cary and what she has meant to the NIU athletic program.  I have heard and read literally dozens of news reports about her, and the one thing that struck me is how very consistent people’s comments about her have been.  I do not think anyone who has been interviewed by the press regarding Cary’s departure failed to use the word “integrity” when they described Cary and the program she has built here at NIU.

I was really struck by the number of times I heard that word, “integrity,” and in thinking about what I might say about Cary today, I thought about that word.  “Integrity” is another form of the word “integral.”  It means “essential or necessary for completeness.”  What people are really saying about Cary is that the mark she leaves at NIU is one of completeness:  treating student athletes as complete people, with an emphasis on their academic and personal wellbeing; not leaving things half-done, but persevering until projects – like the Convocation Center, the stadium, the booster clubs and even the football team – are completed and on a solid footing; and, finally, helping reconnect athletics with the larger university in ways that underscore the completeness of the NIU experience.  That is what I think people mean when they say Cary brought “integrity” to our program, and I agree.

Cary, on behalf of this Board and the campus community, thank you for 23 years of leadership.  You are a complete professional, and we will completely miss you. 

At this time, I would like to read into the record the text of an official resolution that we are going to be voting on later this morning:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS Cary Sue Groth has faithfully served her alma mater, Northern Illinois University for 23 years as coach, administrator, mentor and athletic director; and

WHEREAS Ms. Groth has brought a claim to her university by earning numerous national awards for professional excellence and personal integrity; and

WHEREAS she has served in the forefront of both state and national equity moments through her gubernatorial appointments to the Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois and her national appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Education to the U.S. Title IX Commission; and

WHEREAS Ms. Groth served as the driving force behind a massive athletic facility improvement plan, which included the Huskie Stadium east grandstand project, the installation of the Huskie Stadium’s new field turf surface and the new scoreboard and video display system, construction and opening of NIU’s 10,000 seat convocation center and the major renovations at baseball’s McKenzie Field and softball’s Mary M. Bell Field; and

WHEREAS she led NIU’s successful return to the respective Mid‑America Conference and its certification by the NCAA as one of the nation’s first major athletic programs found to be operating in full conformance with the association’s operating principles; and

WHEREAS she has recruited and hired numerous successful coaches who share her commitment to competitive success, program integrity and holistic support of student athletes … of the student athlete; and

WHEREAS Ms. Groth’s leadership has facilitated steady growth in all programs, including unprecedented success in football, increased game attendance and NIU’s first‑ever appearance in national top ten football rankings; and

WHEREAS her expert guidance and unflagging enthusiasm has injected new energy into the Huskie Booster Clubs as well as athletic alumni and fundraising efforts; and

WHEREAS in all her efforts, Cary Groth has brought pride to her university and its faculty, staff and students;

NOW, THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University in formal meeting herein assembled, extends its grateful appreciation to Cary Gorth for her outstanding and loyal service.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be presented to Ms. Groth and a copy of this document be placed in the official files of this Board as part of the permanent record of the great State of Illinois and as a lasting tribute to the performance and accomplishments of Ms. Cary Sue Groth.

Adopted in a regular meeting assembled this 18^th day of March, 2004.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

________________________________________

Gary J. Skoien, Chair

Attest: ____________________________________

Anne C. Kaplan, Assistant Secretary

We have this beautifully embossed, leather‑bound edition of the resolution for you Cary.  I have just one last thing, and then I will ask Cary to say a few words.

The other thing that was not in the resolution or my comments is, when I first came to the Board at NIU, there were a few people who really reached out their hand of support and welcome.  And one of them was Cary.  She made me and my family feel like we were really part of the university.  That is indicative of how she served as an ambassador to the greater world and to everybody she came in contact with.  It was really a personal pleasure to be involved with you, Cary.  You are a super person.

Ms. Groth made the following comments:

Thank you.  I want to start by saying I cry when I see puppies, so don’t be surprised if I cry here.  Actually, I have had an unbelievable experience here at Northern Illinois University.  And because of you and the staff that I have had the good fortune to work with, the two presidents I have been fortunate to work with, Dr. Kaplan’s leadership and staff in athletics, I have been able to experience great success because of the people that have been associated with the program.  We have done it as a team.  And, because of that, I have the opportunity to move on to Nevada.

People have asked me over the last week, what is one thing that I am most proud of.  Actually, there are two.  One, our graduation rate in the last 10 years went from 51 percent to 67 percent.  That is huge.  Second is watching people from all over the country wear that new Huskie logo that we put together two and a half years ago – the pride in the institution.  But that all was accomplished by the team of people in this room and the athletic program and our alums, who really stood by a program that had many lean years.  So, from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate the support I have gotten over the years.  And being my alma mater, NIU will be forever in my heart.  I am trying to schedule football at Nevada so we have Northern’s Homecoming day off in order for me to come back to Homecoming and wear my jeans and NIU sweatshirt and tailgate and have some fun.  But, I will miss all of you very much.  And, thank you very much.

“What else can you say about this woman?” Trustee Boey asked.  All her attributes have been covered, so I will not be redundant.  However, my wife, Doris, and I have had the pleasure of knowing her for a number of years, even before I became a Trustee.  And Gary, like you, she truly extended her welcome to the NIU community.  Being in the position I am, along with my fellow Trustees, I certainly understood some of the issues and difficulties she had to work through.  And, certainly, when she took the directorship ten years ago, she was plowing new ground along with a handful of other female AD’s in the country in Division 1‑A.  You have been marvelous.  And given some of the difficult times you went through to bring us to where we are today, I know it was not because of the money.  You certainly had a ton of other opportunities before now.  All I can surmise is what you have done for NIU is truly an act of love.  Thank you for that.

I would be remiss, Trustee Sanchez said, if I did not say that that same kind of welcome for Pat and me was and always will be there, and we are going to miss you.

Cary, I just want to say formally, on behalf of the Athletic Department, the student athletes and all the people you nurtured and worked with and who respect you, President Peters said, you are a tremendous role model for both men and women.  On behalf of the faculty, who trust you when you say the student/scholar part comes first, and our fans and the staff who have found you a pleasure to work with, we wish you Godspeed and great success.  You have left the place a lot better than you found it.  You are forever a part of Huskie tradition.  And we hope you are back often.

First, Cary, I want to congratulate you and wish you the best of luck, Trustee Siegel said.  I know you will do a wonderful job out there in Las Vegas, and we will be reading a lot about you.  Cary, you have done a wonderful job, Trustee Vella said.  I hate to see you go, but opportunities are there.  So I wish you Godspeed.

We all wish you well, Chair Skoien said.  I guess that is the last message.  We all wish you the best, because it really has been a pleasure working with you and being with you here.

In your opening remarks today, Chair Skoien, you mentioned the need for NIU to define what it does well, President Peters said, and I think education leadership is something we have historically done well and continue to do very well.  About 15 months ago, I convened a task force to look at how NIU could play a stronger role in public education reform, which is a major public policy issue of our time.  While I knew this was a subject they cared about very deeply, I have to admit that I was not prepared for how ready they were to take on this project.  I was stunned at how quickly we have staked our claim to statewide leadership in this area.  The P‑20 Initiative has accomplished so much in such a short time that I felt we needed to give you an update as soon as possible.  And here to do that is Vice President Anne Kaplan of the Division of Administration and University Outreach, who, along with Vice Provost Gip Seaver, co‑chairs the P‑20 Task Force.

I am speaking on behalf of Dr. Seaver as well, Dr. Kaplan said.  He is in Chicago making a presentation and thought better of driving back out here this morning.  However, you will see him on the video.  In the video, we feature a handful of educators from throughout the NIU region talking about what they need to do a better job and how the NIU P‑20 Initiative is helping meet those needs.  There are a number of very specific projects that have come directly out of NIU’s P‑20 efforts over the past 15 months.  But there are dozens of other ongoing projects all over campus that now have a distinct P‑20 emphasis.  We are not going to tell you about all of those, but we could.  Actually, all you really need to know about P‑20 is three things:  It is about producing better teachers, it is about improving student achievement, and it is about creating seamless transitions.  So we would like to offer you a sampling of those goals and show you how NIU is helping meet them.

Following is a brief summary of the video presentation.

In 2003, NIU President John Peters established a bold agenda for improving public education in Illinois from preschool through graduate school – the NIU P‑20 Initiative.  The NIU P-20 Initiative includes dozens of programs and hundreds of partnerships with public school districts across northern Illinois.  In professional development, technology training, grant writing, research, program development and public policy services, the NIU P-20 Initiative addresses school problems from every possible angle.

NIU’s P-20 Initiative brings faculty experts and new resources into schools to help teachers.

P-20 field work also helps keep NIU’s Teacher Preparation Program current, thereby producing new teachers who are better prepared for the challenges of today’s classroom.

P‑20 spreads NIU influence across the state.  One of the realities many new teachers must deal with is financially challenged districts with few resources to modernize teaching methods.  NIU’s P-20 Initiative coordinates fundraising efforts across colleges and has so far raised $7 million for teaching improvement programs with $15 million more under review.  Closer to home, one of its most ambitious programs seeks to improve a whole district through involvement with one school.  Wright Elementary is a new school being planned from the ground up by NIU and DeKalb District 428.  The Partnership School is a good example of a school district and a university collaborating to provide opportunities for the district’s students and staff, as well as opportunities for the faculty and students at the university.  At the Partnership School, NIU specialists will help teachers use music, drama, art and computers to teach reading, writing, math, science and all the core subjects.

The important thing is improving student achievement and student outcomes.  The strict requirements of federal No‑Child Left Behind standards have many districts scrambling to improve students’ scores on standardized tests.  In Illinois, teachers and school administrators have a leg up in that area, thanks to another NIU P-20 Initiative – the Illinois Interactive Report Card.  The IIRC allows parents and teachers to see exactly how students are performing over a long period of time in a variety of subjects.  It also allows educators to pinpoint special groups who need extra help for particular weaknesses in school curricula.  Hundreds of Illinois schools are using the Interactive Report Card, and dozens more are contracting with NIU for advanced report card services and training.  Currently, 300 schools in more than 35 districts are working with NIU P-20 staff learning how to use data to improve classroom teaching.

School reform is everybody’s issue. But universities, public universities in particular, can provide the leadership in getting people together to start to identify where the difficulties are and then to work together to find solutions.

Better teachers – higher student achievement – smoother transitions.

What we have tried to give you is just a flavor of the types of programs that P-20 encompasses, Dr. Kaplan said.  There is a lot more detail on this in the notebooks we gave you.  The Interactive Report Card section of these notebooks, has been customized so that the reports are based on the towns each of you comes from.  And I think you will find the results of that very interesting.  I also want to acknowledge the creator of the Interactive Report Card, Harvey Smith, who is with us today.  And we would like to recognize the whole P‑20 Task Force:  Chris Sorenson, Dean of the College of Education; Fred Kitterle, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Shirley Richmond from Health and Human Sciences, who is out of town today; Promod Vohra, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology; Harold Kafer, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, who has had a lot to do with the arts emphasis in the Wright Elementary School; and Marilyn McConachie, an educational policy specialist in NIU Outreach.  These are the people who have placed NIU firmly in the lead in terms of education reform in the state.

So, on behalf of them, Dr. Seaver and myself, we would all like to acknowledge President Peters’ leadership on this effort and his vision for the university in which public education is everyone’s business.  Going back to what Chair Skoien said, if we become a university which speaks with one voice, this is certainly one of the things this university is going to say.

Thank you, President Peters said, it is a tremendous achievement on the part of the faculty and staff with the leadership of the deans Dr.  Seaver and Dr. Kaplan.  Obviously, this video will be used around the state and the country to demonstrate what I think is one of the essential roles of universities in this millennium.  When you see those little faces on the video, we really have to reach out and partner with the school districts, and we will all be better for it.

I am impressed, Trustee Boey said, because I still remember only a year ago at the State of the University address that I heard you first mention P‑20, and we have made remarkable progress.  So, I am proud of that, the way the team has come together and all the deans have put so much effort into it.  I look forward to seeing more on it.

President Peters stated that the P‑20 project would probably become a part of our routine reporting.  But the program has grown exponentially, he said, and it attracts attention.  It is really an amazing program. 
And it also is attracting external dollars. 

I want to welcome University Advisory Committee representatives who may be present this morning:  Dr. Suzanne Willis, Dr. Xueshu Song, Ms. Beverly Espe, Ms. Sara Clayton, Dr. Paul Loubere and Dr. William Tolhurst.  Chair Skoien asked if the Committee had any comments.  Dr. Willis added her congratulations to Cary Groth.  It is always good to see a woman in a nontraditional field moving up the ladder, she said.  And I know from my own personal professional experience that there are hidden potholes and barriers that may not be obvious to one who is not in that situation.  It is not as easy as it looks, so I am very pleased for her.

The other thing, Dr. Willis said, is that the faculty, as are all of us, is concerned about the budget and are kind of foundering in a sea of noninformation.  But, as far as I can tell, the openness with which dealing with these issues over the past couple of years has been handled, has left the faculty feeling that they are informed and in the loop.  They are upset at the budget and at the state.  But they feel that things at the university have been handled extremely well, and we are certainly grateful for that.

One thing that I did not say in my comments, Chair Skoien said, but I know I said this in December.  It is unusual to have such a protracted problem at the state level.  And, as we know, the states trail the economy in general.  If the economy is improving, which we all believe it is, the state budget lags by a significant amount.  But I had a briefing recently with Budget Director Filan, looking at their projections.  Going out a few years, it is not particularly optimistic on a macro level, so, hopefully, some things will turn around.  But, again, everybody is being terrific in dealing with the situation.

The Chair asked Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson if any members of the public had registered a written request to address the Board in accordance with state law and Board of Trustees Bylaws.  Mr. Davidson noted that he had received no timely requests to address this meeting.

Executive Committee

There was no report from the Executive Committee.

Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee

Committee Chair Robert Boey reported that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee met on Thursday, March 4.  At that meeting, the Committee considered and endorsed the following action items:  Sabbatical Leaves of Faculty and Supportive Professional Staff; a Request for Degree Authority at a Regional Site (Region 10, Chicago); a Request for New Emphasis within the B.S. in Technology; and a request to Delete an Emphasis within the B.S. in Technology.  The Committee heard reports on the following information items:  an update on the status of NIU’s reaccreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association; an Increment Summary Report for Fiscal Year 2004; the Annual Oral English Proficiency Report for 2002‑2003; and the Annual IBHE Report on Underrepresented Groups for 2002‑2003.

Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee

Committee Chair Barbara Giorgi Vella reported that the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee met on March 4, 2004.  At that meeting, the Committee considered and approved recommendations for fees and room and board rates for the upcoming academic year.  The recommendations were developed through a consultative process and are reflective of the budget challenges the university faces in Fiscal Year 2004‑2005.

Additional items considered by the Committee were contracts and contract renewals for Fiscal Year 2005:  Student Accident and Sickness Insurance, Document Services Copier and Controller Systems, Waste Management, Printing Services for the Northern Star, Mass Transit System; Expenditure authorizations:  Fiscal Year 2005 Athletic Sports Camp Housing and Meals, Information and Technology Services Computer Desktop Workstations; Douglas Hall Student Rooms Carpet.  The Committee received the following reports:  Fiscal year 2004‑2005 Budget Update; Truth‑in‑Tuition Implementation; Quarterly Summary of Transactions in Excess of $100,000; Periodic Report on Investments; the PeopleSoft Status; Fiscal Year 2004 Increment Summary.

Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee

Committee Chair Myron Siegel reported that the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee met in Hoffman Estates on March 11.  Ken Zehnder provided reports on the status of substantive legislation and the state budget at this point from the Springfield perspective.  A substantive legislation report and operating budget update are included in today’s BOT report as information items.  Kathy Buettner gave a detailed overview of pending federal legislation, including the Higher Education Reauthorization Act.

Dr. Promod Vohra, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, gave a presentation on the ROCK manufacturing initiative that the university is coordinating in Rockford.  NIU received a $2.25 million grant in federal funds in FY04 from the Defense Appropriations Bill to begin helping to revitalize the manufacturing base in Rockford.

Bob Albanese delivered a detailed report on the results of the university’s FY03 Compliance Audit.  We were pleased to see that there were no repeat findings.  The Committee held a discussion about one of four findings that dealt with several departments not depositing cash receipts on a timely basis.  The Committee endorsed the motion that requests President Peters to develop a fair and flexible mechanism within the administrative structure to provide for enforcement of audit findings, recommendations and implementation.  The Committee has reviewed each finding carefully.  While we are very pleased with the innocuous nature of the four findings, we would like to make sure the President has the ability to take administrative corrective action against departments and/or individuals who fail to follow university policy that results in audit findings.  President Peters will present his recommendations to our Committee at its next meeting.  I will add that I am told by Mr. Davidson that the development of such a process may allow us to have a higher bond rating and help us on our future interest requirements.

The Committee also endorsed an amendment to the Board Bylaws that would permit temporary appointment of any Board member attending the Committee meeting to achieve a quorum at that particular meeting.  The amendment is in your Board materials today for First Reading.  Our concern is how to deal with quorum requirements when our committees are so thinly filled and with all of our Trustees having such busy personal schedules.

Illinois Board of Higher Education

President Peters reported that the last meeting of the Illinois Board of Higher Education was held on February 3 at Lake County.  One item of particular interest to this Board is that the IBHE accepted the FY05 higher education budget recommendations for operations, grants and capital improvements.  The IBHE also adopted proposed personnel policies for public universities and their board as required by the new State Officials Employees Ethics Act, as amended.  We have an implementation committee that has done good work on that.  The other item of interest is that the IBHE has established and appointed a committee to study and implement policies affecting students with disabilities.

Universities Civil Service Merit Board

Liaison Barbara Giorgi Vella reported that the Universities Civil Service Merit Board met on Tuesday, January 20.  Several requests for dismissal were granted by the board, and we approved our bylaws.  Subsequent to the meeting, I was informed that Chair Brewster will no longer be serving as chair of our committee.  So, at our next meeting, we will be voting for a new chair.  The next meeting should be in May.

Northern Illinois University Foundation

Trustee Boey deferred to Mallory Simpson, Foundation president, to give the NIU Foundation report.  The strong momentum that I described to you at the December meeting has carried through the first quarter of 2004, Ms. Simpson said, and we have had some delightful surprises.  Total gifts this year received to date are just under $4.8 million.  That is nearly 30 percent ahead of our pace last year.  Gifts received from alumni total nearly $1.6 million, and that is up about 70 percent in alumni giving so far this year.  Our annual fund has increased 13 percent, and we have an increasing number of donors.  We had fallen off just a little despite the fact that our dollars were holding strong last year, but we are gaining new donors this year, which is very important.  So far this fiscal year, we have six new endowed scholarships totaling more than a million dollars.  We are very pleased about that, and I have a couple of great stories to share.  One of them is about a couple of our newer Foundation board members.  Dean and Linda Tobias reconnected with the university about a year and a half ago, and we immediately recruited Dean to the NIU Foundation Board of Directors.  Since that time, they have been enthusiastic participants in a lot of our university and Foundation events, and Dean has been a very engaged board member.  This winter, John Bass, Director of Gift and Estate Planning, began discussions with the Tobiases about a gift to the Alumni and Visitors Center based on Dean and Linda’s reactions to the plans that had been developing.  He asked them for $250,000 to name the board room.  Well, Dean had been thinking about a gift more in the magnitude of $25,000, and when Dean and Linda discussed this between the two of them, Linda said, “well, Dean, I think you should be approaching this from the Power of 10 that you keep talking about.  They asked for $250,000 …  You’re thinking of $25,000.  I think you should multiply that by 10 and what we should give them is $250,000.”  And that is what they have done – they have pledged $250,000.

That story really reinforces a message that I have been delivering in large and small group sessions in the last few months:  Just as NIU is now able to imagine things that just a few years ago would have been unimaginable, we are asking our alumni and our other friends and donors to imagine major gifts that they would never have considered giving until now.  And the great thing is, our alumni are responding.

Of course, you all know about Sally Stephens’ surprise gift of $300,000 that has been widely reported.  Her gift has been designated to support many of the areas of the university near and dear to her, including the Alumni and Visitors Center, the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and a few other things.  Sally is fully enjoying her gift decision and reveling in pride and joy, as she should be.  And it is an inspiring story for all of us.

Another major gift we had recently is a $175,000 estate gift from Joyce Pugh to create an endowed scholarship in music and art.  This was done in memory of her parents and her husband.  She graduated in 1942 with a degree in music education and had been living out west for 47 years.  She recently returned to DeKalb and made this bequest commitment.

When you come back from your Executive Session, I will have at your places copies of a new marketing package that we are using to support our development initiatives.  The carrier piece is a piece that really promotes the image of the university as a whole, and the pieces that go in the back pocket are focused on particular initiatives that we are working on.  We are very proud to have these high quality marketing materials to present when we meet individually with major gift prospects.

One last story about the Kenneth C. Chessick Legal Skills Training Center at the College of Law.  The gift has now been completed, the center has been completed and was dedicated on Sunday.  It was a thrilling day for Ken and Ellen as donors, but also for the College of Law and the university as a whole.  This center truly is another feather in the cap of Northern Illinois University.  Ken had a vision to give NIU law students a competitive advantage by providing them with the skills to use cutting edge technology in the practice of law.  This would put the College of Law at the forefront on the use of technology.  Their gift of $250,000, which is the single largest gift ever given to the College of Law, made that dream a reality.  The ripple effect of that gift will last for many years.  Fewer than five percent of law schools have a facility with this type of technology, and we know of no others with such well designed space, great flexibility and so aesthetically pleasing.  Completion of this project is an example of a funding partnership between a donor who had a great idea, the College of Law and the university.  And many people in this room have played a major part in making this project happen.

Ken called me on Tuesday, still on cloud nine, and just could not say enough.  He is so appreciative of the partnership commitments made by President Peters, Provost Legg, Dr. Williams and Dean Leroy Pernell to make his dream come true.  He is incredibly grateful, happy and proud.  He is astounded – his words – with the realization of this dream, and his expectations have been exceeded.  Both he and his wife, Ellen, have talked about the incredible joy they feel in having made this gift.  He said that if everyone knew how much fun it was to make a gift like this and that you would get back more than you give, he thinks people would be pounding down our doors in the Development office – and wouldn’t that be great.  This was the first major gift made by the Chessicks but certainly not the last.  They have told me time and time again that they intend to be very major donors to this university in the future.

Lastly, and related to the Chessicks in some way, I just wanted to offer one additional comment about Cary Groth.  She has been a very important partner to Development.  She has made opportunities for thrilling experiences, whether it is sitting in a visiting A.D.’s box or going to the sidelines at the Alabama game, she has made very special moments available to our donors – not just athletic donors, but donors to other parts of the university.  So, President Peters, when you look for her replacement as A.D., please keep that in mind.  We need a strong university citizen and development partner.  Thank you.

I just wanted to mention Sally Stephen’s gift one more time, Trustee Boey said, because it is so very generous coming from Sally, who has been a lifelong employee of NIU.  It is a wonderful gift.  And regarding the Chessick gift, he said, they gave a demonstration of what technology means in a courtroom today.  This gift will certainly give our law students an advantage going into today’s state‑of‑the‑art courtroom that many of their counterparts will not have.  They have already been trained in the technology side of the courtroom so that when they are actually there, they will have done it before, and they will be comfortable using the technology.

It was purely coincidental, Trustee Sanchez said, but prior to Sunday’s celebration, which I was not able to attend, unfortunately, because of my own trial in an asbestos case, I was assigned out to trial in Cook County two weeks ago before Judge Gordon.  I went in and saw all of these high‑tech set‑ups – the videos, the screens and the computers all over the place.  And who is appearing before Judge Gordon, but Ken Chessick.  He was in the middle of the third week of a very significant medical malpractice case.  And even though we had been assigned to Judge Gordon, they – in legal parlance – stacked us up.  They assigned us to a judge and said as soon as this trial is over, you will handle your case.  Ken was there, and we spent about 15 minutes just talking about, not his trial, not about his witnesses or about how the evidence had gone, but about NIU.  This gentleman, whom I knew was going to have this celebration on Sunday, could not stop talking about NIU.  And he does not limit it to just the Law School.  His connection is the Law School, but his generous support is for the whole university.  But that technology, which my generation, unfortunately, did not have the chance to learn and yet Ken is so familiar with, is going to put NIU law students several steps ahead, because there are folks like me trying to learn it after the fact.  Thanks to Ken Chessick’s gift, these students also are going to really have an advantage over all the private and public law schools in this state.  So, thanks to Ken Chessick, and what a great gift.

Chair Skoien asked for a motion to close the public meeting to conduct an executive session to discuss the following subjects authorized by the Illinois Open Meetings Act:  personnel matters as generally described under §2(c)(1) and (3) of the Open Meetings Act and property matters as generally described under §2(c)(5) and (6) of the Open Meetings Act.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Sanchez.  A roll call vote of the Trustees to recess to Executive Session was unanimous.

Chair Skoien reconvened the public meeting of the Board of Trustees at approximately 11:17 a.m. and asked for a roll call of Trustees.  Members present were Trustees Robert Boey, Manuel Sanchez, Student Trustee Kevin Miller and Chair Skoien.  Present via teleconference was Trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella.

Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the items placed on the consent agenda earlier in the meeting.  They include President’s Report No. 34 Action Items 9.a.(3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (14), (15), and 9.c.(1) and Information Items 9.b.(3), (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11) and 9.c.(2).  Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey.  The motion was approved.

We have a guest with us today, the Chair said.  We are fortunate to have with us today Senator Dick Durbin.  It is a real pleasure for the university to introduce our senior senator in Washington who has been a great friend to Northern Illinois University, helped us with funding issues in Washington, and who has been just a great friend, partner and leader in our state and a leader in the nation.  He asked Senator Durbin to say a few words.

Thank you for those warm words of introduction, the Senator said.  I will not interrupt your meeting other than to tell you that I am happy to be here today, and I will meet with a few of you afterwards for lunch.  John [Peters] has already been out to Washington with his agenda, and I will tell you that he was not a bit shy in asking for Northern Illinois University.  You have a great friend in the House in Speaker Denny Hastert, who has done enormous things for the university, and he is in a position to continue to help.  We will try to do our best in the Senate.  We are out of money there, as they are in Springfield, but we live with deficits, which, unfortunately, this governor cannot.  So, we will try to help in every way we can.  Northern is a premier university in our state.  And we think that Northern Illinois University, even beyond the gridiron, has distinguished itself in so many ways and will continue to do so with such distinguished alumni as Manny Sanchez.  I do not know if you all saw the write‑up about Manny in the Chicago Tribune.  But, I just want to tell you how delighted I am to be visiting with you today.  Thank you very much for the warm welcome.

We have had a full day, President Peters said, and what a wonderful day for Northern Illinois University to have that surprise visit from our senior senator who, along with his staff, every time I go to Washington, so graciously receives us.  And they always inquire as to the health and the welfare of our students.  I find that to be true of our delegation on both sides of the aisle.

We have a full agenda, and I do not want to take too much time with comments; but I would like to follow up on a few items, which were mentioned earlier.  First of all, NIU has gone on record in favor of the flat state funding recommendation of the IBHE.  That is to say, no further cuts to our budget.  I note that early reports from the House Higher Education Appropriation hearings would seem to indicate that we are not alone in this stance.  Western Illinois, the University of Illinois and Chicago State all testified earlier this month, and they too opposed any attempts to further trim our budgets.  NIU is scheduled to testify in late April and, as I have said, we will emphasize our belief that higher education has done all that it can to help the state out of its financial difficulties.  Illinois public universities have endured cut after cut over the past two and a half years, and it is time to ask our lawmakers and our Governor to look elsewhere for solutions.  If you saw that P‑20 video and the faces of those young people and the work we are doing, that is where the investment has to be made – in education at all levels.

I would also like to echo Chair Skoien’s thoughts about the perseverance and resilience of our faculty and staff during these lean times.  I am deeply grateful for the dedication that you all have shown in keeping our core service to students alive and well.  While my communication style is one which always emphasizes the positive – and there is certainly enough to emphasize – I want our campus community to know that I am well aware of the damage these budget cuts have caused over time.  None of us imagine that these are circumstances to which we should simply adjust and accept as a permanent state of affairs.  We cannot do that.  On the contrary, we know we must rebuild an acceptable level of state support.  Those efforts are ongoing and involve not only myself and my staff but also members of this Board and a number of elected officials who support higher education and NIU.  And I know that our students, our faculty, our staff and our alums are at the ready to do battle when we need them – and we will need them.

I also want to add to Chair Skoien’s thanks my own appreciation for the nearly two years of hard work on the part of numerous faculty and staff in the very successful Higher Learning Commission accreditation process.  This is a big deal.  Of course you know by now that the site team’s preliminary report was very positive, and I, for one am going to enjoy sharing some of the specific strengths a little later.  So, again, thanks to Virginia Cassidy and Jan Rintala for their leadership in that grueling process.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the two very specific board directives given by Chair Skoien today .  Gary, you asked us to begin work on two key planning projects:  the first having to do with clarification of this university’s mission and the messages we employ to communicate that mission.  I concur with your sense that this is a critical issue for us right now, and I embrace the opportunity to engage this campus in a very focused dialogue on that subject with very specific outcomes in mind.

Similarly, your second charge, to lay the groundwork that will allow us to sustain our athletic success and build on that success, is one that I take very seriously and enthusiastically.  I am currently engaged in discussions with staff in Intercollegiate Athletics to determine what they think we need to continue the improvements we have enjoyed in recent years.  I am also going to engage the services of a consultant in our search for a new athletic director, because I think we are at such a critical juncture in our program that we need to make sure we align our leadership with goals for the next 5 to 10 years.

University Recommendations Forwarded by the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.a.(1) – Fiscal Year 2005 Student Fee Recommendations

This first item, President Peters said, is the setting of student fee recommendations for Fiscal Year 2005, which is the very important.  There is a summary table of those requested increases on page 16.  As you know, these requests come to me after an elaborate and participatory process that is a wonderful thing to behold.  Our philosophy is always to keep these at the lowest possible level, and we monitor this constantly.  This year, we have incurred increased costs, much of it associated with minimum wage increases and increases in the cost of doing business.  Taken collectively, excluding some of the issues that we have very little control over such as the 9.4 percent increase in student health insurance, the increase recommended for approval represents a maximum percentage of about 3.23 percent.  And you can see very clearly on the table where we are on each fee and what we are proposing.  On activity fees for undergraduate, graduate and professional, no increases are projected.  In athletics, we are projecting a 3 percent increase, and that increase will go almost solely for the costs of our grant‑in‑aid program.  As costs of tuition and fees go up, when we provide grants‑in‑aid to athletes, we have to cover those costs in some way.  There is an increase in our bond revenue needs for our facilities.  Some of those are preprogrammed.  Our wonderful Huskie Bus System contract requires an increase.  The health insurance cost represents a hefty increase of 9.46 percent, which is a negotiated rate.  But, if you are a parent or paying for private insurance or if you have students at other universities, you know that is a very good rate.  And students do not have to take it if they can show proof of insurability from another carrier.

I would like to lead the discussion on this item by commenting further on the health insurance, Chair Skoien said.  Three months ago, I finished doing our corporate health insurance, and the increase was up substantially above 9 percent, by a factor of two and half.  So, I applaud the effort to hold it to a 9 percent increase.  That is the unfortunate reality we have today with healthcare costs.  Absolutely, Trustee Boey agreed.  I wish our company had a 9.46 percent.  Ours is substantially higher than that.

Student fees and tuition are something that is near and dear to my heart as a student member of the Board, Student Trustee Miller commented.  As has already been said, the process that is used is extraordinarily intensive.  It involves people from all over the university, including students, for which I very much applaud the university.  And I can say after a lot of research, thought, consideration and consulting with the students and other people who were involved in this process, I am confident in saying that these recommendations achieve what I believe to be the appropriate balance between the necessity of the institution and affordability.  It is a minimal increase if you take out the contractual obligations.  And I applaud the fee review committees and everyone involved for that.  It is always difficult to make these decisions.  We have a lot on our plates.  But, as I have said, I feel these are appropriate recommendations, and I will be voting in favor of them.

Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the FY05 Student Fee Recommendations.  Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 9.a.(2) – Fiscal Year 2005 Room and Board Rate Recommendations

Moving on to Fiscal Year 2005 Room and Board Rate Recommendations on pages 20 and 21, President Peters said, we are requesting an average rate change of 9.04 percent.  The various changes in room rates by types of residence hall and board rates are listed on page 21.  Interestingly, I found that the Residence Hall Association, which consists of the students who represent the residence halls, were unanimous in their support of this percentage increase.  As a matter of fact, they were unanimous in their support of a higher rate.  But we think we can live within this recommendation.  These rates are basically the result of increased utility costs and salary increments as a result of the minimum wage increase, because we have so many students who are employed.  And it really does not represent any significant programmatic increases.  In response to a question from Trustee Boey, Dr. Williams stated that the tuition rates shown are per semester. 

So, calculating room and board per year, plus a student’s tuition and fees for 15 credit hours, Trustee Boey said, that is not quite $11,000 total room and board.  I know of secondary private schools that are even more than that for tuition alone on an annual basis.  And you have that to look forward to, Gary.  Also, NIU’s board rate is the least expensive in the MAC Conference.  Certainly, the tuition, room and board at less than $11,000 a year today fits right in with our bottom line mission statement:  accessibility, affordability and quality.  I try to follow this, but I am still taken by surprise at how low it is.  It is a lot of money; but in the context of where we are in room and board and tuition in the country, this is really affordable.  Actually, that is an interesting point, Chair Skoien said.  Not to dwell on my children, but my son’s preschool for next year is actually $13,500.  So comparing his preschool to the education people are receiving here at NIU, it is $4,000 a year versus $13,000.

Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the FY05 Room and Board Rate Recommendations.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Sanchez.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 9.a.(3) – Fiscal Year 2005 Athletic Sports Camp Housing and Meal Expenditure

Consent Agenda Item.

Agenda Item 9.a.(4) – Fiscal Year 2005 Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Contract

We had to raise our premiums for the Fiscal Year 2005 Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Contract to fit this negotiated contract, the President said, and it has been well negotiated.  This action requests Board approval to extend our contract with our provider.  Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the FY05 Student Accident and Sickness Insurance Contract.  Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 9.a.(5) – Fiscal Year 2005 Document Services Copier and Controller System Contract Renewal

Agenda Item 9.a.(6) – Fiscal Year 2005 Waste Management Contract Renewal

Agenda Item 9.a.(7) – Fiscal Year 2005 Northern Star Contract Renewal

Agenda Item 9.a.(8) – Fiscal Year 2005 International Programs Division Contracts Renewal