The University Senate
of Michigan
Technological University
Corrected Minutes of
Meeting 493
21 April 2010
Synopsis:
The Senate
·
Presentation by President Glenn Mroz
1. Call to order and roll call. President Rudy Luck called the University Senate Meeting 493
to order at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, April 21, 2010. The Senate Secretary Marty
Thompson called roll. Absent were Senators Marilyn Vogler,
and representatives of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Physics, School of
Technology, Visual and Performing Arts, Academic Services B, Auxiliaries and
Cultural Enrichment, Advancement, USG and the Graduate Student Council.
2. Recognition of visitors. Guests included Max Seel
(Provost Office), Joe Herbig (Accounting Services), Glenn Mroz (Presidents Office), Paul
Tomasi (Counsel) and Benjamin Depew (Graduate Student
Government).
3. Approval of agenda. Hamlin moved approval of the agenda; Mallet Malette
seconded the motion; it passed unanimously
on a voice vote.
4. Presentation: “Presidents Address to the Senate” by
President Glenn Mroz
President Mroz
started by discussing the organizational and operational relationships of the
University. He mentioned the goal of getting
certain university policies up to date and ensuring consistency between Senate
and Board policies. Tomasi said that each new administration
made changes and, as such changes accumulated, inconsistencies appeared. He
added that many policy changes the administration is making are technical corrections and negligible substantive changes.
Luck asked what exactly he was changing. Tomasi stated
that changes to the policy need to reflect the current organizational and
operational structure of the administration. Luck asked if there were any
changes to promotion and tenure policies. Tomasi
affirmed no changes to P&T procedures were made. His goal was getting the
boards function consistent with policy. Seel added
that many activities throughout campus need to be made consistent with current
practices. Mroz then discussed a university policy
review initiated by staff members. Under review are handbooks and procedures.
The goal is to ensure the documents are current and consistent. Mroz closed his presentation with a discussion of various
governance scenarios. Hamlin asked where Tech would appear on the graph
correlating administration and senate engagement. Mroz
speculated it was in the center, with overall constructive interactions by both
administration and senate. Luck asked President Mroz
to cite several decisions that represent his key contributions to the
University. Mroz felt the financial decisions that
were employee-centered. He added that the sound financial state prevented more
serious decisions from having to be made. Luck then asked about the library
space being given to the mineral museum. Mroz stated
he is doing what he can to permit the expansion of the academic programs, and
has lined up donors to fund new plans for the mineral museum. He noted the
third floor of the library looked like a plausible solution, although there
were some issues with the original donors that had to be worked out. He also added
that the issue is not finalized, but is still being dealt with. Luck inquired
about the library director’s feeling about moving the museum into the library. Seel noted that he has been in talks with the incoming and
interim director of the library regarding this issue. He noted that the library
is involved in the talks and there is not an unlimited pot of money to move the
museum to its own location. Williams asked if this museum relocation to the
library would be temporary. Mroz said everyone hoped
it would be moved up to Quincy hill, but that funding was the limitation. Williams
cited several reasons in which the library brings in money to the university. Mroz affirms the comments and noted that the state is cutting
support for buildings and is cancelling bond issues. This means building will
occur by philanthropy or bonding using general funds. Mullins stated that
education and training are core issues of the university. He added that we are the
lowest in the State of Michigan at 27% of total budget spent on instruction. He
added that spending for academic support fell from $11.5 to $10 million. He
asked how the core mission fits into the strategic decisions. Luck estimated
the loss of $4 million attributed to the decrease in state appropriations, stimulus
and scholarship money. He asked if Mroz has changed
his transforming vision. Mroz acknowledged the
financial strains and the challenge to his vision for the university. He noted
the bright spots of help from ARRA money, and support in the governor’s budget.
Mroz called special attention to sponsored program
money from research, the enterprise program, and women in engineering. He cited
the high number of new faculty hired in the past few years and the increase in money
from alternate funding sources. Luck asked what benefits the university will
receive from the reorganization of retirement and medical benefits. Mroz said the fringe rate came down from 45 to 38.2% to be
comparable to benchmark universities. Hamlin asked if the fringe rate was based
on actual costs or based on a full match contribution. Mroz
said the fringe rate assumes full contribution to retirement. Hamlin said it
might actually be less due to some not maximizing the contributions. Mroz cited individual reasons for variations in the
retirement contributions. Mullins noted the cost of the past service liability.
Mroz acknowledged this issue and sent a letter to the
governor regarding the MIPS system because taxes are still being paid on
employees no longer collecting. Tech ended new enrolments in MIPS in 1996.
Currently, it costs $3.5 million per year which translates to $514 per student
for past service liability in the MIPS program. Storer
asked about midyear salary increases and how changes to the fringe benefits
impacted faculty. Mroz noted the increase
in Social Security, Medicare and retirement contributions went up with the
increase in pay. Luck asked how the success of SFHI will be evaluated and whether
this is the best investment for Tech. Mroz said the
initial outlook is pretty good. He noted that his responsibility is to make
faculty as a group advance. Luck noted that 85% of respondents in survey were
aware of the strategic plan, but 25% were guided by it in their daily
decision-making. Mroz said that getting most people
moving in the same direction is a challenge. He cited improved credentials of
the incoming students, which did not just happen, it
took a lot of effort by faculty and staff. Luck’s last question focused on the
low survey rating of the change in health care provider to Aetna. Mroz noted that Blue Cross is a well known standard, but
they could not help with health savings accounts (HSA). Because of the
limitations, we made the decision to change providers. More people changed to
HSAs this year, validating the decision. Mullins asked how the Capital Campaign
was proceeding. Mroz put the number at $114 million
in gifts and pledges. He cited the difficulty in philanthropic fund raising in these
difficult economic times. He was apprehensive of doubling the funding goal in
this financial climate. Mroz raised the issue of the
new administration building. He noted there were enough renters to make
payments on the Lakeshore Center. He added that under consideration is which
academic units can best use the old administration building. Mallet noted the
tuition rates will be set at the next BOC meeting. Mroz
affirmed this and noted that resetting tuition rates has moved to from July. He
added that state appropriations will not be known by the July meeting. Herbig cited the declining high-school graduation rates and
then asked if an overcapacity is occurring in higher education. Mroz noted this as an area of significant concern in Michigan.
Tech has been fortunate in using aid to select for higher qualifications
for incoming student. Luck thanked President Mroz.
6. Adjournment. Hamlin moved to
adjourn; Storer seconded the motion. President Luck
adjourned the meeting at
6.44pm
Respectfully submitted
by Marty Thompson
Secretary of the University Senate