Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1984 [PAGE 204]

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1983]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

195

BUSINESS PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

President Ikenberry recognized and introduced observers from the campus senates and from the University Senates Conference.1 He also introduced Dr. George Kottemann, vice chairman of die Alumni Association Board of Directors.

President's Report President Ikenberry presented a report on selected topics of current interest, copies of which were distributed at the meeting. A copy was filed with the secretary of the board. President's Report on Other Matters

Following are excerpts from an extended report presented by the president.

The month began with a meeting of the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and its obligation to recommend ways to cut $107 million in State support for higher education if the governor's "no-new-tax" budget is actually adopted. It was not a pleasant day, but it was a day in which much was said about the critical importance of a strong system of higher education to the future of Illinois. Most eloquent among those statements, in my judgment, was one by William Browder, president of IBHE, delivered the night before to key legislators. I share with you a copy for your reading. It is an excellent analysis and clear statement of the challenge now before this State. On a prior matter of interest to this board, you will recall that at the last meeting, Vice President Weir briefed us on an amendment to the Military Selective Service Act, signed into law by President Reagan last September, which mandates that any student who is required to be registered with Selective Service and fails to register is ineligible for student financial assistance provided under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Subsequently, the Department of Education proposed guidelines for enforcement of this new provision to the Military Selective Service Act which placed an unnecessary burden on both students and institutions and, in so doing, far exceeded the legislative intent. The University of Illinois, along with many other higher-education institutions and agencies, opposed the proposed regulations and made our views known to the Department of Education and to Congressional leaders. Since the last meeting of this board, Secretary Porter has forwarded to you Vice President Weir's response to the Department of Education and other related materials. To bring you up to date on this matter, I can now report that the Department of Education has announced it will revise the regulations and will require institutions only to collect Statements of Registration Compliance from students. Verification of these statements will be the responsibility of the Department of Education. Meanwhile, the House Postsecondary Education Subcommittee, chaired by Representative Paul Simon of Illinois, took the first steps toward postponing the new law by approving a bi'l pushing back the effective date of the law seven months to February 1, 1984. In the meantime, as you know, the constitutionality of the law is being tested as a result of the Minnesota decision. Given these recent actions, we do not recommend any action by this board

* Univers : ty Senates Conference: Rollin G Wright, professor and head of the Department of Physxal Education, Uibana-Chamnaign campus; Chicago Campus Senates: Richard L. Carlin, professor of chemistry, and Dale Etsenmann, professor and head of the Department of Histology: Urbana-Champaign Senate Ccuncil: Martha O. Friedman, associate professor of library administration and history and philosophy librarian.