Caption: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1994
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364 BOARD OF TRUSTEES [August 18 there were a large number of committees. The board members agreed that committee chairs should communicate with committee members more, most agreed that there is insufficient time for discussion at committee meetings, and that the meetings should probably be longer, and some suggested that committees ought to meet at times different from the regular meetings. The consensus achieved was that the board would continue to discuss the work of their committees and try to find ways to make the committees function more successfully. Mr. Ingram remarked that the ideal role of a trustee is to work with the president to develop together a vision for the University. He described this as a process by which the board helps the administration move forward and realize plans for the University. One point generally agreed to was that the board needed more time to consider issues and discuss them in the committee meetings. ROLE OF THE BOARD SECRETARY Mr. Ingram opened this topic with the comment that having a trust relationship with the staff was most important and especially with the board secretary. President Stukel added that this does not mean relying too heavily on the board secretary for communication between fellow trustees; the board members should relate to each other personally and especially with the chair. The conclusion of this discussion was that more timely responses to the board office would be helpful and giving sufficient time to the staff for provision of services was also important. ROLE OF THE TREASURER Mr. Ingram advised that in the review of the Bylaws the role of the treasurer should be carefully reviewed with an eye to changing this. Mr. McKeever concurred with this agreeing that some of the duties were no longer appropriate. DISCUSSION OF INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ISSUES AFFECTING THE BOARD — SUMMARY Mr. Lamont led this portion of the retreat. The following issues were identified and some remedies suggested: 1. Faculty salaries — The trustees agreed that this was a serious problem that the University must solve and suggested that tuition be one part of the solution, together with more support from the State, which all board members and administration should work for assiduously in the next few years. They agreed that the problem needed some action toward resolution soon. 2. Fragmentation of higher education in Illinois and various forms of reorganization — The trustees expressed concern about the amount of change brought about in public higher education in Illinois by the dissolution of the governing boards of the Board of Governors
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