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Vol. XXVII No. 25July 16, 1997
http://www.umn.edu/urelate/brief/1997-07-16.html
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Editor: Maureen Smith (612) 624-2801

President Yudof and newly elected chair Bill Hogan presided at their first regents meeting July 10. Action on the 1998 budget topped the agenda. Meeting was fast moving, with no controversy. "I've been in office for 10 days, and I'd like to report that I've successfully found my way to work on 9 of them," Yudof began his report of the president. "There's been no physical violence, no demonstrations, and only one Texas-style tornado."

Regent Hogan said the board is "going to do some things differently" and will be "a more executive board," leading and not managing. "This board stands ready to nurture a university," he said. Individual regents will be asked to study different issues. Regent Spence is looking at student initiatives and how the regents can connect better to outstate areas. Regent Neel is looking at Medicare issues.

"We've got a great president," Hogan said. In meetings with Yudof, he said, he has been "dazzled" with some of his "out-of-the-box thinking." Hogan thanked Regent Reagan, his predecessor as chair, and said Reagan has not been thanked enough. His words were applauded.

Budget was approved. Yudof called it "a good solid budget" and said, "I'm particularly pleased with the size of the faculty raise. It's critical to keep that going in the future." Regent Reagan said his goals as chair were to stabilize tuition and improve faculty salaries, and this budget does both. "It happened because we had a surplus, let's face it," he said, but "it makes me feel good." In aiming to bring faculty salaries to the median of the top 30 universities, he said, "I think we have set the bar a little too low."

Goal to be in the top 5 public universities is reachable, Yudof said. "We're not that far from the top 5 right now." It will be important to pick out areas to emphasize, he said, but they must not be too narrowly defined. Tendency is to pick out areas that were "yesterday's winners," he said. Among areas that interest him: digital technologies, liberal arts and sciences and humanities ("You can't build a great university without those folks being there"), molecular biology and microbiology, systems engineering, and "my hobbyhorse, K-12 education."

Deferred maintenance problem on the TC campus might need a new approach, Yudof said. His idea: divide the campus into zones and "think about how we make one zone right." He proposed starting with the Northrop mall area, both north and south. Goal would be to be ready for the U's 150th birthday in 2001. Another idea from Yudof: "We might embark on a radical campaign of cleaning up the campus."

Slimming down the bureaucracy continues to be one of his goals, Yudof said. Provost Bruininks had the "formidable task" of combining 3 offices, he said, and other VPs will be asked for similar efforts. Reorganization has been handled humanely, he said. "No one has been fired. No one has been laid off. We will find places for people." Yudof added, "All of us in central administration are here to serve....Morrill Hall has not won any Nobel Prizes....We are here to facilitate or get out of the way."

Yudof expressed concern about the projected cost of converting student systems to the PeopleSoft computer system. (Current estimate is $49 million.) "This is expensive," he said. "It's fully the equivalent of putting up a large building. Just like we'd scrutinize the cost of a building, I think we need to scrutinize very carefully the cost of implementing these systems. To me, you haven't answered the question by saying these are superb systems. We know there are many superb cars, some of which are ridiculously priced and some of which are reasonable buys. I want to make sure it's a reasonable buy."

Sexual harassment policy was pulled off the regents' docket and will be brought back to the regents for a vote in the fall. Hasselmo administration had asked for the sexual harassment and consensual relationship policies to be separated and had offered a revised version of the consensual relationship policy, but faculty leaders objected. President Yudof agreed to a request from the Faculty Consultative Committee that the item be pulled off the docket to allow for more consideration. U Senate approved a policy on sexual harassment and consensual relationships on a near-unanimous vote, but any policy passed by the senate is subject to a regents' vote. President Hasselmo declined to endorse the policy.

Ettore "Jim" Infante, former senior VP and professor of mathematics, has been named dean of Vanderbilt University's College of Arts and Science. He has been visiting professor of applied mathematics at Brown. Appointment is effective Aug. 1. He said he was attracted to Vanderbilt because of its "fantastic commitment to undergraduate education combined with its reputation as one of the outstanding research institutions in the United States."

Steam plant project is moving forward, after the state appeals court rejected a request from the Save Our Riverfront Coalition to revoke the plant's air emissions permit.

Civil Service Committee will have 6 vacancies for 3-year terms beginning in September. Search committee will recommend a slate of candidates to the president in August. All civil service staff, covered by the civil service rules, who have held temporary or continuing appointments of at least 50% time for at least 2 years are eligible to apply. Application date is July 31. Contact Coordinator of Search, Civil Service Committee, c/o Office of Equal Opportunity, 419 Morrill Hall, Minneapolis, (612) 624-9547, or the Web page at http://www.socsci.umn.edu/civilser.

CROOKSTON--Douglas Knowlton began July 1 as acting vice chancellor for academic affairs and will serve for the next academic year. Knowlton is associate professor in special education at the U of North Dakota. He brings a strong counseling and teaching background to UMC. He recently served as chair of the Minnesota Technical College Board before the merger of 3 public college systems in Minnesota. He replaces Rita Meyer, who retired this June.

Events: Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Camp is being held on the UMC campus July 13-19. Don Cavalier, director of counseling and the Career Center, is coordinator.Academic advisement and registration for new students is July 25. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the day ends around 2:30 p.m.

DULUTH--More than 100 precious minerals were presented to the UMD Department of Geology by Lempi and John Pagnucco. An additional cash gift by the Pagnuccos was matched by Proctor and Gamble. Lempi Erickson Pagnucco, 95, visited UMD on June 6, 1997--75 years almost to the day from the day she graduated from UMD on June 7, 1922.

Biology professor Conrad Firling attended 1997 Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) at National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He is secretary of the biology division of CUR, which makes recommendations on issues regarding the undergraduate research experience to members of Congress and leaders of research agencies.

A film crew from "America's Castles," an hour-long television series on the Arts and Entertainment Network, will begin 3 days of filming on July 21 at UMD's Glensheen Estate.

MORRIS--Search committee seeking candidates for UMM chancellor has been announced. They are Angel Lopez, professor, computer science, chair; Tinisha Davis, UMM student; Pieranna Garavaso, associate professor, philosophy; Roland Guyotte, associate professor, social science; Brent Heeringa, UMM student; Karla Klinger, director, academic advising; Michael Martin, dean, agricultural, food, and environmental sciences, TC campus; Elizabeth Morrison, cochair, West Central Education Development Association; Barbara Reid, interim associate dean, CLA, TC campus; Gwen Rudney, associate professor, elementary education; Allan Thoren, president, First Federal Savings Bank; and Thelma Wilson, office specialist, registrar's office. Deadline for applications is Nov. 17.

Campus Activities Council Performing Arts Committee has received two Arts Midwest Performing Arts Touring Fund grants. Awards will support performances of Montana Repertory Theatre production of To Kill a Mockingbird and Afro-Brazilian dance by DanceBrazil. Both performances are part of the 1997-98 Performing Arts Series.

The annual West Central School of Agriculture reunion will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20.

TWIN CITIES--Due to low ridership, U Paratransit and Como Shuttle services will be suspended effective July 23 and will not be available for the rest of the summer. U Paratransit service will resume with the start of fall quarter Sept. 25. Como Shuttle service is suspended until further notice. For more information call (612) 626-7275.

Announcements: U Band Department will hold a garage sale July 18, noon-7 p.m., in rooms 4 and 14 of Northrop Auditorium. Used band instruments, old marching band uniforms, furniture, and miscellaneous items will be sold. For more information call (612) 624-6873.U.S. Postal Service has issued 3 endorsement lines that are to be used for address corrections: Address Service Requested, Return Service Requested, Change Service Requested. Refer to March issue of Users Guide to Mail Preparation from Addressing and Mailing Services for a complete explanation.

Events: Noontime walking series at Weisman Art Museum, July 22: "From Moccasin Prints to Civil Engineering: People in the Mississippi River Gorge" led by David Wiggins, program manager for Minnesota Historical Society's St. Anthony Falls Interpretive Program.Women's athletics department, in conjunction with Sable Advertising and Federal Cartridge, will hold a celebrity trapshoot July 26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., at Federal Cartridge Shooting Range in Anoka. Cost is $25 to participate with all proceeds going to Berg Scholarship Fund. Celebrities include Minnesota Twins catcher Terry Steinbach and women's basketball star Carol Ann Shudlick. Call (612) 624-6587.