Latest entries in Live blog: September 2010 Board of Curators meeting
Follow The Maneater's coverage as the UM system Board of Curators meets in Springfield on Thursday and Friday. The board is the governing body of the four-campus university system, which includes MU, UM-Kansas City, UM-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Sept. 24, 2010
Student leaders address Board of Curators
Student leaders from across the UM system attended this morning's UM system Board of Curators meeting in Springfield, MO. Student government leaders from MU and UM-St. Louis said they wanted to represent students at the meetings.
Missouri Students Association President Tim Noce and MSA Director of Student Services Kaitlin Oxenreider said they wanted to show the curators students are involved with the issues discussed at the meetings.
"We're trying to make our presence known and show that students care about the issues," Noce said.
UMSL Student Government Association President Daniel Rosner said attending the meeting was about the importance of understanding students are involved in the issues facing the curators.
"it's the importance of knowing about how enrollment is going and where we stand with tuition and student fees," Rosner said.
Student government representatives from UM campuses work together as a part of the Intercampus Student Council, Noce and Rosner said. ISC is working with student representative to the board Laura Confer, about issues to bring to future curators meetings.
"We are working on things like student conduct and non discrimination policies," Noce said.
ISC will continue to work on proposals to present to the board, but Noce said a proposal might not happen at the December curators meeting.
Board of Curators dicusses benefits and retirement plans
The UM system Board of Curators voted on action items at meetings this morning in Springfield, MO.
The curators unanimously passed three amendments to the board rules and regulations pertaining to the official spoken title of members of the board.
Curators anticipate a 15 percent increase in payment plan premiums for certain staff benefits. There will also be additional dialogue between members of the committee and MU stakeholders, regarding changes to the retirement plan.
In November, curators anticipate a committee report and a possible recommendation for changes at the December board meetings.
University of Missouri Health Care System presents anual report
Harold Wiliamson, vice chancellor of the MU Health Care System, presented the MU Health Care anual report to the UM system Board of Curators in Springfield, MO, this morning.
Williamson highlighted the variety of grants awarded to the Health Care System, including four grants totaling more than $22.5 million awarded to the MU School of Medicine.
Like other colleges in the university, Williamson said, enrollment in the School of Health Professions is up 128 percent since 2002, and the range of programs offered there continues to grow.
"The transformation of the health sciences part of our campus is stunning," Williamson said.
The demolition of Cramer and Stafford residence halls was the beginning of the Patient Care Tower project, Williamson said, which includes the Ellis Fischel Cancer Center and is slated to be completed by 2013.
In addition to the anual report, MU Health Care System financial report highlighted an inflated budet and the recently created partnership with Cerner for health information technology.
UM chancellors suggest tuition increases
Chancellor's from the UM system campuses addressed the UM system Board of Curators in Springfield, MO, this morning regarding the UM system's need to increase tuition across all four campuses.
University of Missouri Science and Technology Chancellor John Carney expressed the universities need to increase tuition to meet the financial needs of the school.
UM-Kansas City Chancellor Leo Morton and UM-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas George expressed similar interests in tuition increases but stressed the importance of balancing increased tuition rates with financial access to the universities.
All three chancellors highlighted record enrollment but said an increase in tuition is an essential step forward during the difficult economic times.
Deaton discusses record enrollment
At this morning's UM system Board of Curators meeting in Springfield, MO, Chacellor Brady Deaton addressed enrollment issues on campus and highlighted progress in student diversity and retention.
Deaton highlighted the universities largest freshmen class in the history of the institution, and pointed to increased underrepresented minority student enrollment as an increase in student diversity across campus.
Deaton addressed the future of enrollment, noting a decline in the projected number of Missouri high school graduates for the future and said the university is preparing for the future from a revenue standpoint.
“We’re obviously looking ahead here,” Deaton said.
The university provided $110 million in financial aid to students this academic year, Deaton said, all of which came from the university budget through merit and need based scholarships and other forms of financial aid. In addition, 300 new, part-time student jobs were created this year, providing an addition $1 million in money going to students.
Deaton touched on the universities attempts to make off-campus student housing options more inclusive with main campus, noting that students in off-campus housing are awarded the same opportunities with faculty and staff, and can make use of most on-campus facilities.
Lastly, Deaton announced the dedication of the MU Student Center in an event during Homecoming Week with special guest, Mort Walker, MU alumnus and creator of the Beetle Bailey comic strip series.
Forsee discusses UM system finances
UM system President Gary Forsee addressed the UM system Board of Curators this morning in Springfield, MO, focusing on the future of the financial situation of the university system.
Forsee began his address by noting the approval of a new market tax credit status for the system that will aid in the funding of non-academic facilities on all four campuses. Forsee also announced the opening of the application process for the Enterprise Investment Program, meant to pair private companies with research capabilities on the four campuses, establishing partnerships across the state.
The address centered around the development and analyzation of shared services programs for the system and the financial progress that can be gained from streamlining back office process across all four campuses.
“We wanted to look at the most frequent back office processes to take a look at what could become a more efficient, share service product,” Forsee said.
By cutting down on inefficient processes, the UM system can cut costs in the long-run, Forsee said, but the system must maintain a focus on the quality of service provided.
Forsee addressed concerns regarding tuition increases, stressing that increases are an important part of the financial future of the UM system.
"Without question, we will need to come to the board for a proposition to increase tuition," Forsee said. "I think we know that we will need to lay out how we’re thinking about (a tuition increase)."
Because of financial difficulties facing the system, Forsee said, a plan for tuition increases should be approved and implemented for the 2012-13 academic year. Each campus will be able to make a case for tuition differentiation, Forsee said, to attempt to balance access across the four campuses.
Sept. 23, 2010
Rodriguez presents retirement plan project
A retirement plan project update was presented by Betsy Rodriguez, UM system vice president for Human Relations, to the Compensation and Human Resources Committee Meeting of the Board of Curators on Thursday.
The primary objective for the presentation Thursday was to present the updates made to the project and to take an inventory of questions to research and report back to the Board of Curators committee during the November meeting.