Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1976 [PAGE 287]

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276

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[May 21

President Neal introduced Mr. Stuart Summers, newly elected student trustee from the Urbana campus, who attended the meeting as an observer, and announced that by the time of the June meeting all three student trustees will have been elected and will be invited by the Board to attend that meeting as part of their orientation. Each will assume his seat on the Board effective July 1,1975.

MINUTES APPROVED

The Secretary presented for approval the press proofs of the minutes of the Board of Trustees meetings of July 17, 1974, and September 18, 1974, copies of which had previously been sent to the Board. On motion of Mr. Howard, these minutes were approved as printed on pages 1 to 79 inclusive.

MEETINGS OF BOARD COMMITTEES

President Neal announced there would be a meeting of the Buildings and Grounds Committee at the conclusion of the regular agenda and before the Executive Session.

BUSINESS PRESENTED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY President's Report

President Corbally presented a report on selected topics of current interest, copies of which were distributed at the meeting, and a copy was filed with the Secretary of the Board.

OLD BUSINESS Availability of COPE Task Force Reports

Mr. Cosgrove, observing that several of the confidential COPE task force reports have appeared in the press, requested that Board members be sent these reports for their information, and he made a motion to that effect. President Corbally stated that he did not favor this suggestion, that the confidential documents had been leaked to the press and the question, therefore, was one of maintaining the integrity of the COPE evaluation process. He said that, if the Board or administration supported the idea of distribution through press leaks, they would thus be reversing an earlier action of the Board which supported the confidentiality of the task force documents.1 Mr. Cosgrove asked for a vote on his motion and the motion was defeated by the following vote: Aye, none; no, Mr. Forsyth, Mr. Hahn, Mr. Howard, Mr. Lenz, Mr. Livingston, Mr. Neal, Mrs. Rader, Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Velasquez; absent, Governor Walker.

1 See the minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting, September 18, 1974, pages 63-64. The Committee on Program Evaluation (COPE) is the administrative instrument for the Urbana campus' long-term academic self-study.