The University Senate discussed the matters of the University’s newly adopted budgetary model, University governance, administration transparency and academic freedoms yesterday afternoon in the Harrington Room inside the John E. Jaqua Academic Learning Center.
Vice Provost of Budget and Planning and math professor Brad Shelton explained to the Senate the new budget model for the upcoming academic year that will take effect July 1.
The budget, which combines all in-state and out-of-state tuition into one fund, will allocate nearly 10 percent of it to financial aid, 28 percent of it to University schools and colleges and the rest will go to everything else covered in the budget including central administration. The Senate covered extensively how University schools and colleges will receive funds.
Shelton broke down the formula for the distribution of funds to the various schools and colleges.
Undergraduate tuition will “be in one pot,” Shelton said. Every school and college’s budget is determined through three factors, which together make up the entire budget. Half of the funds any school or college receives will be determined by how many credit hours it offers, 30 percent will be determined by how many majors a school or college offers, and the remaining 20 percent is dictated by how many degrees a school or college awards.
Graduate tuition funds will be allocated according to how many graduate students a school or college has, and all students’ tuition dollars go to the department they’re enrolled in. The budget will compensate for graduate teaching fellows, who work in return for free tuition. Departments with GTFs receive no money for each GTF.
“The graduate students model represents the reality of it, (and) the reality of funding graduate students is very ugly,” Shelton said. “It’s a tough business.”
Senate members expressed concerns of departments not receiving enough help and schools and colleges creating more majors and smaller classes sacrificed for
bigger ones.
Shelton further explained that under the new budget model, schools and colleges have increased fiscal responsibility, most schools and colleges have larger budgets and all of the schools and colleges have substantially more opportunities to make decisions that will improve their overall financial health.
Chair of Internal Governance Committee and associate professor of human physiology Paul van Donkelaar briefly discussed the creation of a new governance that would include statutory faculty to fulfill a 2008 Department of Justice ruling. This new governing body would comprise statutory faculty who are not represented in the composition of the University Senate. Statutory faculty include the University president, tenure-related, career non-tenure-track and tenured senior professors. Van Donkelaar and Senate President and biology professor Nathan Tublitz concluded that day-to-day governance of University policies would still lie within the Senate.
University President Richard Lariviere joined the Senate briefly at the beginning of the meeting to address issues concerning transparency and the release of public records.
“We’re going to be as open and transparent as the law allows,” Lariviere said. “We’re going to hold ourselves as accountable and responsible. We may have to hire someone to (respond to request for documents), but there are credibility issues here that would make it a worthy investment.”
Vice Provost of Academic Affairs Russ Tomlin discussed the matters of academic freedoms and freedom of inquiry brought on by “heated discussions” concerning the Pacifica Forum at the March Senate meeting. He was also there to present a proposed policy statement from the provost that would cover the University’s policy to academic freedom and freedom to inquiry, which would further address professors’ access to University facilities.
The policy explicitly states the University is supportive of academic freedom and freedom of inquiry, and supports the voice of protesters with different opinions. The motion to support the policy was approved; meanwhile, a motion to create an ad hoc committee to review the language of academic freedom and a motion on the committee to report conflicts of commitment of University faculty were also passed by the Senate.
Interim athletic director Lorraine Davis also reported on the athletic department, which she does not oversee until April 20, and her report generated some heated conversation.
“There are a lot successes in the classroom and in the athletic arena, and hopefully we’ll be able to be a stronger unit meeting University policies in a positive way,” Davis said.
Tublitz expressed concerns he heard from University community members about “the lack of integrity bleeding out into the rest of the University,” and Bellotti’s buyout, and said he had a problem with Davis’ word “hopefully.”
Davis left the Senate meeting after giving her report.
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