University of Minnesota Board of Regents to meet this week
When: Thursday, Feb. 12 - Friday, Feb. 13, 2009
Where: 600 McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St.S.E., Minneapolis
Contacts: Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (612) 624-5551
The University of Minnesota Board of Regents will hold its monthly meeting this week on the Twin Cities campus. The board will act on the University of Minnesota Rochester Master Campus Plan. The agenda also includes a work session on how students pay for the cost of college and a proposed new dental therapy program that will be the first of its kind in the nation.
Highlights of the meeting include:
Thursday, Feb. 12
9:45 - 11:30 a.m., Educational Planning and Policy Committee, West Committee Room. Provost Thomas Sullivan and Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Robert McMaster will present on the university's student support initiatives and its efforts to provide students with the assistance they need to be successful at meeting their academic goals and graduating in a timely manner.
Also, the committee will review the School of Dentistry's proposed new dental therapy program, which would be the first of its kind in the nation. Designed to tackle dental care access problems across Minnesota and the upper Midwest, the program will educate health professionals who will perform as mid-level providers with a skill set between a dental hygienist and dentist.
1:15 - 3:15 p.m., Facilities Committee, West Committee Room. Presented at last month's meeting, the committee will now act on the University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) Campus Master Plan. The plan establishes an educational and research framework, analyzes space requirements and expected costs, outlines necessary partnerships and determines the requirements for a downtown site that is capable of expanding to 1,500 students in the short-term and ultimately to 5,000 students.
Following the UMR action, the Board will review the Twin Cities Campus Master Plan, which will outline future land use and capital project decisions over the next decade.
3:30 - 4:45 p.m., Audit Committee, East Committee Room. After an external evaluation last fall, the Office of Institutional Compliance will present its recommendations on the university's conflict of interest program.
Friday, Feb. 13
9 - 10:15 a.m., Board of Regents Work Session, Boardroom. Over the past five years, the university has created and implemented specific strategies designed to maintain affordability for undergraduate students from all income levels. Most notably this has included the Founders Free Tuition Program and the 13-credit tuition band. The Board will hold a work session with Sullivan and McMaster on how students pay for college education today and what student educational financing may look like in the future.
10:30 - 11:30 a.m., Board of Regents Meeting, Boardroom.The Board will recognize 2009 Rhodes Scholar Ashley Nord and the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog football team and Coach Bob Nielson, winners of the 2008 NCAA Division II football championship. In his report, university President Robert Bruininks is expected to discuss potential state budget cuts and what the university is doing to cut costs as well as the recent reorganizations of the Academic Health Center/Medical School and Graduate School.
More information on the Board of Regents meeting can be found at www.umn.edu/regents The Friday meeting will be webcast on that site beginning at 9 a.m.
