Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1994 [PAGE 400]

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[September 14

On motion of Ms. Reese, this recommendation was approved and authority was given as requested by the following vote: Aye, Dr. Bacon, Mrs. Calder, Mr. Engelbrecht, Dr. Gindorf, Mrs. Gravenhorst, Mr. Lamont, Mrs. O'Malley, Ms. Reese; no, none; absent, Governor Edgar. (Ms. Lopez asked to be recorded as not voting on this item.) (The student advisory vote was: Aye, Mr. Malone, Mr. Mathew, Mr. Rose; no, none.)

Requests for New Operating and Capital Appropriations, Fiscal Year 1997

(13) Requests for incremental operating funds and for new capital appropriations for the University of Illinois for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1996, are presented herewith for action by the Board of Trustees. Following board action, these requests will be submitted to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for review. The following tables summarize the major elements of each request, and the document, "Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Request for Operating and Capital Funds" provides detailed descriptions of each program and project included in the request. (A copy of the document is filed with the secretary of the board for record.) The FY 1997 operating budget request is outlined in Table 1. It seeks $49.9 million in new funds, an increase of 6.2 percent above the current year's budget. The FY 1997 request focuses primarily upon needs for salary competitiveness for faculty and staff and enhancing academic program development, particularly for undergraduates. It also seeks $1.6 million in additional revenue associated with planned enrollment increases at Springfield and Urbana-Champaign. As has always been the case, the request defines the most urgent funding needs confronting the University while recognizing the overall fiscal condition of the State. FY 1997 tuition charges will be addressed by the board in subsequent meetings (October and November 1995). The budgetary impact of those tuition decisions on program funding will be incorporated into the operating budget request at the time tuition levels are approved by the board. Table 2 identifies the fifteen projects in the FY 1997 capital budget request in priority order. Together, these projects represent an investment of $81.3 million, devoted primarily to preserving and extending facilities already in place at the campuses. Remodeling and renovation projects comprise a large part of the total funds requested, with the highest priority given to repair and renovation projects at the three campuses. Funds are also sought to match private gifts now in hand to construct a new agriculture library and information center at Urbana-Champaign. A third priority is to obtain planning funds for a College of Medicine Building at the Chicago campus. The next three priorities address a major infrastructure improvement project for each campus: a campus chiller at Urbana-Champaign, road improvements at Springfield, and clinical sciences remodeling at Chicago. The University's operating and capital requests for FY 1997 have been prepared by the vice president for academic affairs based upon advice from the University Planning Council and review by the University Policy Council. The vice president for academic affairs recommends approval. I concur.