Newly elected Regents to be sworn in at Board meeting this week

Contacts: Daniel Wolter, University News Service, (612) 624-5551

Newly elected members of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents will be sworn in this week. Incumbents Patricia Simmons, Clyde Allen and John Frobenius and first-term Regent Richard Beeson will take the oath of office from Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Christopher Dietzen at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12 in the Board of Regents Boardroom, 600 McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis. Beeson replaces David Metzen of the Fourth Congressional District and a Regent since 1997.

Highlights for the rest of the meeting are as follows:

Thursday, March 12
9:45 - 11:30 a.m., Facilities Committee, West Committee Room. A number of capital budget amendments, schematic plans and real estate transactions will be presented. Included for review and action is a capital budget amendment to fund the design and construction of the new Schulze Diabetes Institute on the Twin Cities campus and road and site work for the NOvA Project, a large physics detector in Ash River, Minn.

1:30 - 2:30 a.m., Work Session, Boardroom. University chief financial officer Richard Pfutzenreuter and state economist Tom Stinson will give the state's economic update and outline how the 2009 federal stimulus package effects the forecast.

2:45 - 4:15 p.m., Educational Planning and Policy Committee, West Committee Room. The processes for faculty review and evaluation will be reviewed.

2:45 - 4:15 p.m., Faculty, Staff and Student Affairs Committee, East Committee Room.
Vice President for Human Resources Carol Carrier will present a policy change that would require an employee contribution toward university credit-bearing courses taken under the Regents Scholarship Program.

In an effort to provide undergraduate students with an outstanding living and learning environment, the committee will discuss new methods to survey student experiences.

As part of a discussion, the committee will then be presented an update on the resources available and the activities planned to support staff and work groups effected by budget challenges.

Friday, March 13
9 - 11 a.m., Board of Regents Meeting, Boardroom. The Board will first recognize the 2009-2011 McKnight Land-Grant professors. The award is given to junior scholars chosen for their potential for important contributions to their field.

President Robert Bruininks and Pfutzenreuter will also recommend the Board approve a $20 million reduction in the current operating budget (2008-2009) in order to reflect the reduction in the university's state general fund appropriation by Governor Tim Pawlenty.

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.