Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1974 [PAGE 351]

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1973]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

341

President Corbally indicated that he and Chancellor Peltason had made arrangements for student spokesmen from Urbana to comment on the proposal and Chancellor Peltason presented Mr. James Gerl from the Undergraduate Student Association and Mr. T, Edward Page from the student membership of the Urbana Senate, and Mrs, Edie Terwilliger of the Graduate Student Association. Each of them endorsed the recommendation as presented by the President, indicating that they had been consulted and that the proposal reflected such consultation. On motion of Mr, Swain, the Board approved the proposal as submitted.

APPOINTMENT O F COMMITTEE FOR THE TRUSTEES DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDALLION AWARD

President Hughes appointed the following Board members to serve on the committee to recommend recipients of the Trustees Distinguished Service Medallion Award: Mr. Swain (chairman), Mr. Howard, Mrs. Rader, Mr, Forsyth, and Mr. Hahn. Mr. Hughes pointed out that, in accord with the Board's action in establishing the award, committee membership would change from time to time to insure that each trustee would have the opportunity to serve at some point during his term of office. GENERAL REPORT CONCERNING UNIVERSITY BUDGETS President Corbally presented a general statement about the University internal budget and the appropriations request for 1974-75. The President's statement is as follows: At this meeting, you have before you budget recommendations for both the current year and for 1974-75. I will not repeat the comments I made at our July meeting except to remind you that we are providing legislators with budgetary information in support of the efforts by the General Assembly to override Governor Walker's reduction of about $4 million in our operating appropriation for 1973-74 and to restore funds for several capital projects in our capital appropriations for the same period. Some effort has been made to describe our strong support of a restoration as a personal battle between Governor Walker and the University or, more specifically, and me. This interpretation is simply not true. The Governor, the General Assembly, and University officials play separate and distinct roles in Illinois government. Both the power of the Governor to reduce or veto appropriations and the power of the General Assembly to restore such reductions or vetoes are specified in our Illinois Constitution. We believe that the General Assembly was right in its appropriations to the University for 1973-74 and we seek—as provided in the Constitution — a reaffirmation by the General Assembly of its position. While the Governor and I disagree on the funding requirements of the University for 1973-74, it is an honest and open disagreement which we have discussed, which we both understand, and in which we each must play the role and meet the responsibilities assigned to LIS. An analysis of our financial needs and of the program restraints which three — and now, perhaps, four —years of State tax support which has failed to recognize our needs have imposed upon us makes it clear to me that we must enter 1974-75 with a base operating budget approximating the original appropriations made by the General Assembly for 1973-74. If the Governor's reductions are sustained, we must find other ways to restore that base. As distasteful as it is to me and to you, one way which must be considered is a sharp increase in tuition. Our philosophical commitment to low tuition is a matter of extensive public record. I do not agree that the financial problems of either public or private higher education should or could be solved by large increases in tuition at public universities. But our greater commitment must be to the University of Illinois and to the maintenance of its distinguished record of high quality people offering