Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1978 [PAGE 345]

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[July 20

est, copies of which were distributed at the meeting, and a copy was filed with the secretary of the board.

Report on Actions of the General Assembly

President Gorbally presented the following review of the work of the General Assembly with regard to the University of Illinois:

Each of you has read and heard reports of the actions affecting higher education and the University of Illinois taken by the Illinois General Assembly during its recent session. My purpose today is not to repeat the details of each of those actions, but rather to highlight a few significant events and to comment briefly upon the general tone of the session and of our relationships with the General Assembly and with other agencies of state government. In round numbers, appropriations in support of all those activities included in the category, higher education, for Fiscal Year (FY) 1978 are $60 million above appropriations for FY 1977. This $60 million includes approximately $50 million in general revenue funds and approximately $10 million in income funds, the latter increase reflecting increases in tuition levels at senior universities. It should be remembered that appropriations for FY 1977 following the restoration by the General Assembly of funds reduced by then Governor Walker included sufficient funds to support an additional 2 percent salary increase (beyond the 2.5 percent approved by Governor Walker) for the entire contract year, but that the restoration of funds was done by the General Assembly based upon an understanding that that additional increase would not be effective until January 1977. The base used by the General Assembly and by Governor Thompson for FY 1977 was, however, the appropriations base rather than the expenditure base so that the annualization of the cost of the additional 2 percent salary increase was in the base rather than considered to be "new money" for FY 1978. This technical detail results in the ability to use all new 1978 funds for new purposes, and the support of this method of calculating the base by the General Assembly, by the Bureau of the Budget, and by Governor Thompson was another indication of the understanding which higher education received in this session. For the University of Illinois, appropriations for FY 1978 are $22 million above appropriations for FY 1977 including retirement system funding and including $4 million in new income due to the tuition increase. With retirement fund ($5.5 million), income fund ($4 million), and Agricultural Premium Fund ($0.4 million) increases excluded, the University received an increase of about $12 million in General Revenue Fund (GRF) support or a 5.25 percent increase in G R F support for FY 1978 over FY 1977. Without dwelling upon the point, the income fund increase of $4 million is a significant amount when compared with the GRF increase of $12 million (exclusive of retirement funding) and does have a real rather than a token impact upon our ability to meet our needs. In terms of the one-third ratio of tuition support to tax support recommended by the Illinois Board of Higher Education, FY 1978 is the first year for some time that resource increases for the University meet that recommendation. In summary, Governor Thompson stated early in his term that without new sources of revenue he could support no more than an increase of $50 million in appropriations to higher education for FY 1978 and that he would support tuition increases if governing boards found such increases to be essential. In his action in signing appropriations to higher education, he was faithful to that statement. The General Assembly sent the governor appropriations representing increased general revenue spending in the amount of $64 million; these measures were reduced by Governor Thompson to the $50 million level in accordance with the allocation of