October 30, 2014

Board takes action on budget, projects, personnel matters

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees met Tuesday and today (Oct. 28- 29) on the SIU Edwardsville campus. The Board approved a number of items, including:

  • A 2 percent salary increase for School of Medicine faculty, administrative/professional staff and Civil Service employees not represented by a recognized bargaining agent, effective July 1, 2014.
  • A fiscal year 2015 system budget totaling $896 million and a capital budget totaling about $115 million.
  • Replacement of two elevators and associated renovations at Life Sciences II on the SIU Carbondale campus at a cost of $600,000. Construction is planned for spring 2015.
  • Five contracts, each for three years, for professional construction and maintenance services at SIU Carbondale, including general site construction services. Each contractor will support campus construction and maintenance staff on projects when it is not feasible or timely to secure a contractor through the formal bid process.
  • The appointments of Dr. Royce Burnett as director of the School of Accountancy at SIU Carbondale, and Leslie Clemmer as executive director of information technology for the Springfield Medical Campus.
  • The renaming of SIU Edwardsville’s Office of International Student & Scholar Services to the Office of International Affairs, and transferred it from the Office of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs to the Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
  • SIU’s membership in the U.S. Department of Defense Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute. As a partner in this collaborative, led by UI LABS in Chicago, both SIU campuses will have opportunities to conduct applied research in advanced materials, digital manufacturing and embedded systems. The collaborative includes other prestigious Illinois universities and 11 other states.
  • Re-established the Board’s Ad Hoc Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee. 
Also at Wednesday’s meeting, Board Chair Randal Thomas reported on the Board’s August retreat, and related discussions that took place Tuesday, which focused on SIU System planning and goals. He

indicated the Board has directed President Randy Dunn to take several steps related to System operations, including:

  • Establish an office for the SIU System and the president on the Edwardsville campus, similar to what already exists in Carbondale and Springfield. The System office will be part of the SIUE chancellor’s office suite in Rendleman Hall.
  • Solicit input from interested internal and external parties, and bring a recommendation to the Board at its December meeting, regarding a change in reporting lines for the deans of the “First- Professional” schools – meaning the Dean of Medicine would report to the president, and the deans of Dental Medicine, Pharmacy and Law would report to their respective chancellors. The programs would remain as administrative units of the SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville campuses.
  • Move forward to establish, and recommend a hire to the Board, a senior level SIU System position to focus primarily on three areas: Identifying and expanding shared services and streamlining operating processes; increasing the System’s outreach, presence and visibility at all levels; and supporting development and fundraising efforts for SIU as a whole. The position will not be about a consolidation of campuses or forcing any “marriages” of academic programs on the respective campuses. It is designed to streamline operations and improve coordination and economies of scale as a university system.
  • Following the lead of the other “Big 4” public institutions in Illinois – which already have a federal presence – determine the best way to engage and advance SIU’s identity and agenda with Congress and federal organizations, agencies and professional associations headquartered in Washington, D.C.