The University Senate
of Michigan Technological University
Minutes of
Meeting 527
12 December
2012
Synopsis: Presentation:
“Financial Presentation” by Dr. Glenn Mroz, President and Dr. David Reed, VP for Research
1. Call to order and roll call. President Bill
Bulleit called the University Senate Meeting 527 to order at 5:30 pm on
Wednesday, December 12, 2012. The Senate Secretary Brian Barkdoll called roll.
Absent was a representative of the Army/Air Force ROTC, Kinesiology and
Integrative Physiology, Visual and Performing Arts, and Enrollment.
Recognition of visitors. Guests included Glenn Mroz, (President’s
Office), Max Seel (Provost’s Office), David Reed
(Vice President for Research’s Office) and Ellen Horsch (Vice President for
Administration’s Office).
2. Approval of agenda. Bulleit
asked if there were any changes; there being none Bulleit called for a vote,
which was APPROVED.
3. Approval of minutes from Meeting 526. Bulleit
asked if there were any changes. There
being none, Bulleit called for a vote, which was APPROVED.
4. Presentation: “Financial Presentation” by Dr. Glenn Mroz, President and Dr. David Reed, VP for Research
Mroz
gave a history of the planning of the university goals and planning (click here
for slides). Barr asked if there are tactics to achieve
the goals, to which Mroz and Reed answered that there are and many are done at
the unit level. Reed stated that Bulleit
had sent questions ahead of time to be answered. Vable asked if we are running deficits, to
which Reed explained that last year there was a deficit. Vable asked why our balance is lower than
other universities, to which Reed and Mroz responded that it’s nothing to be
alarmed at and that a deficit may influence whether or not the state will cut
our appropriations. Regarding Reed’s
point regarding the faculty and administration salaries below our peer groups,
Barkdoll asked if its important to raise salaries, to which Reed replied that
the Board of Control (BOC) is tracking this and other things and has targets to
bring salaries to parity. Barr asked if
there will be salary increases for 2013, to which Mroz and Reed responded that
that will be discussed at the BOC meeting that week. There are many shifting factors including the
economy and enrollment that affect the decision. Regarding health care budgets, Reed explained
that future budgets are partly based on a 7%-increase cap from the health care
provider. Vable stated that we need a
significant number of students to pay full tuition to increase income, to which
Reed explained that about 9% of undergraduate students pay full tuition
currently. Regarding a possible
tiered-tuition scheme, Mullins replied that students are taking less credits to
offset costs. Bulleit asked about the
ambitions endowment goal for the 2035 plan, to which
Herbig and Mroz explained that future campaigns and returns will increase the
endowment. In conclusion, Reed stated
that we must have a diversified and flexible approach to deal with changing
circumstances.
5. Reports
a. Senate
President
Bulleit
stated that Senate Proposals 6-13, 8-13, and 9-13 have been passed by the
administration. In addition, he stated
that the university is required to have each instructional employee sign an
oath.
b. Senate
Standing Committees
The
Senate Election Committee announced the two new members of the CATPR (Woods and
Lu) and the results of the referendum on a tobacco-free campus. There were 1022 eligible voters with 667
responses for a 65% response rate. The results were: 29% to maintain the current Senate
Policy 908.1, 31% to extend the current Senate policy to disallow all tobacco use
in buildings and within a certain distance from the buildings (e.g., 50 ft), and 40% for a completely
tobacco-free campus. There was some
discussion on how to interpret the results, with some stating that it was 60%
against a tobacco-free campus and 40% for it and others stating that the
results meant that there were 70% for some change and 30% against a
change. Bulleit stated that he would
encourage the administration to hold off on implementing the tobacco-free
campus. In addition, he would bring up
the issue of the Senate not being consulted on the University Learning
Goals. He will encourage the administration
to get Senate feedback early in the decision process on all future issues.
6.
Old Business:
a. Proposal 10-13: Proposal for a Spin-Off from “B.S. in
Management” to a B.S. in Management with a Concentration in Supply Chain and
Operations Management”.
Bulleit
called for a vote and the proposal was APPROVED.
Seel
said that he told the BOC that this would not be on the BOC meeting agenda if
the Senate did not approve it.
7. New Business:
None.
8. Adjournment.
President Bulleit adjourned the
meeting at 7:12pm.
Respectfully submitted
by Brian Barkdoll
Secretary of the University Senate
Video available at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/usenate/ under the ‘Meetings’ link on the left of the screen.