Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1986 [PAGE 209]

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[March 21

I recommend approval, subject to further action by the Illinois Board of Higher Education. O n m o t i o n of M r . H a h n , this r e c o m m e n d a t i o n w a s approved.

Establishment of National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Urbana

(12) The chancellor at Urbana-Champaign has recommended the establishment of a National Center for Supercomputing Applications as a special unit of the Graduate College. The center would be an organization complementary to the Center for Supercomputing Research and Development earlier approved by the Board of Trustees.1 The new center is intended to be a national computational facility which will provide the most advanced supercomputers available with current technology. Access to the facility will be open to scientists, engineers, computer designers, and others from throughout the world, with proposals for such access evaluated on a competitive basis. It is expected that 25 to 50 collaborative research groups on the campus would be regular users of the facility. Financial support for the center will come through an announced National Science Foundation grant for approximately $43 million over a five-year period, a component from campus resources, and a significant commitment from State funds. The center will be headed by a director, appointed by the chancellor on recommendation of the dean of the Graduate College. The director will normally hold an academic appointment in an appropriate department of the University. Several faculty members may hold joint appointments in the center and in academic departments. The staff of the center will consist mainly of academic professionals and nonacademic personnel. The recommendation is made with the concurrence of the dean of the Graduate College, the campus Research Board, the Graduate College Executive Committee, and the vice president for academic affairs. Subject to further action by the Illinois Board of Higher Education,5 I recommend the establishment of the Center for Supercomputing Applications as a special unit of the Graduate College at Urbana.

On motion of Mr. Hahn, this recommendation was approved. Designation of "Alumni Hall," Chicago

(13) The chancellor at Chicago has recommended that the building at 400 South Peoria Street, Chicago, known as the "Formfit Building," now be renamed "Alumni Hall." Prior to its acquisition by the University of Illinois, the building was a garment factory, and it was named after the company that owned it. When the University acquired the building, no immediate decision was reached concerning its major occupants or use; and the name was retained until such decisions were reached. The building will house a number of alumni and student-related offices, including those of the Alumni Association, the University of Illinois Foundation, Admissions and Records, Career Placement, Alumni Career Placement, Financial Aid, the Dean of Student Affairs, School and College Relations, Student Employment, Foreign Student Affairs, and Student Legal Services.

1 In the September 20, 1984, action, the Center {or Supercomputing Applications was tentatively referred to at the "Center for Scientific and Engineering Supercomputing. The present usage was adopted to reflect the broader scope of program intended for the facility. 1 The Center for Supercomputing Research and Development was approved by the Board of Higher Education on December 4, 1964.