Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1984 [PAGE 260]

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1983]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

251

Kottemann, chairman of the Alumni Association, of his appointment of Mr. Gary Bielfeldt, an Urbana-Champaign graduate, to represent the chairman of the Alumni Association on the Athletic Board of Control. Such a designation occurs in accord with the bylaws of the Athletic Board of Control when the chairman of the Alumni Association, as in this instance, is a graduate of the Chicago campus. I am sure Mr. Bielfeldt will serve loyally and effectively in this capacity. On Monday of this week (June 13), the president of the Board of Trustees, joined by Trustees Stone and Madden, along with Chancellor Cribbet and others, assembled to dedicate the Lester H. Swanlund Administration Building. Mrs. Swanlund was present for the occasion, having made a special trip from California. She expressed considerable pleasure in the architectural design of the facility, the quality of the construction, and the tastefulness with which the building was furnished. It is a remarkably functional building. Completion of the first three floors of the five-floor project has provided for the first time offices for the chancellor and his immediate staff. In this sense, Monday's celebration represented a significant milestone in the history of the Urbana-Champaign campus. In recent months we have conducted an examination of the Board of Trustees policy in the area of collective bargaining for civil service staff. T h e examination was initiated, in part, in conjunction with the periodic reviews we make of our Policy and Rules — Nonacademic, and partly in response to the suggestions we received that our policies did not reflect the general practice found in most other comparable universities. As we look at the requirements University policy sets for the recognition and election of a representative organization, we believe a change may be warranted. The University is not required to follow National Labor Relations Board guidelines; nonetheless, we are strongly influenced by these guidelines in most respects. Specifically, the current policy requires that a majority of employees in the un'l must vote for a representative organization — regardless of the voter turnout and the number of ballots actually cast in an election. T h e standard policy is one which would require a majority of those who actually vote in the election. In either case, an attempt should be made to ensure as high a voter turnout as possible. T h e University has a record of harmonious relations with employee representative groups; and wc believe a change along the lines we are considering would enhance constructive relations and, in the long run, would be in the best interests of the University. I plan to return to you next month with a specific proposal for your consideration. As members of the Board of Trustees will recall, my original plan for the reformulation of :hc central administration following the departure of the executive vice president was to restructure the central administration around three principal positions: a substantially strengthened role for the vice president for academic affairs; a newly created position of vice president for business and finance; and a third position of vice president for administration to provide a bridge between the internal functions of planning and budget development and the external functions of relations with the legislative and executive branches of State government, development of private support, alumni relations, and strengthened relationships with the general public. The first two steps of the organization plan have been completed. Vice President Weir and Vice Piesident Bazzani both now function effectively in new roles. In the case of the vice piesident for administration, we launched a national search, chaired by Professor Sam Gove. Recently I met with Professor Gove and members of the committee to receive their report. I commend the committee for its excellent work and for the quality of the recommendations forwarded to me. After further contemplation, however, I have decided to defer action on filling the position of vice president for administration. I do this for several reasons.