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Past Issues
Brief will not be published Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Next issue will be Jan. 8; submit items by 4 p.m., Jan. 3. Happy holidays.
U will explore an on-campus, Gophers-only facility, said President Bruininks to Board of Regents Dec. 13. "We have serious reservations about whether a joint stadium would yield our desired outcomes," he said, noting that the U wants to create a collegiate game day experience that would increase student attendance and bring alumni back to campus. "It certainly matters that virtually all of our constituencies have expressed concerns about the impact of an NFL entertainment venue on campus," he said.
U's Metrodome lease expires 2011; Bruininks said the U will remain open to other ideas and has no plans to advance a stadium proposal in the 2003 legislative session. Regents expressed support for exploring a Gophers-only facility; U will outline its plans in a letter to the legislature that will also include a summary of work it completed on a joint facility with the Vikings. "[The predesign work with the Vikings] was a very valuable process that helped us understand the site and design elements and infrastructure and transportation needs," he said.
State's projected $4.560 billion 2004–05 budget deficit is the result of a weak stock market, slow-to-rebound economy, and higher than projected human services expenditures, said Tom Stinson, Minnesota state economist, to Regents Finance and Operations Committee. Deficit, which is $2.910 billion more than estimates at the 2002 end-of-session, includes a $356 million budget shortfall for 2002–03. Stinson said about 70% of the 2002–03 deficit can be traced to income tax, which makes up nearly half the state's revenue. Since February 2001, Minnesota has lost 35,000 jobs, exceeding the national average.
U has a balance sheet of assets and liabilities that is strong, reported VP Pfutzenreuter to Regents Finance and Operations Committee. U assets total approximately $3.4 billion; liabilities $1.2 billion. In fiscal year 2002, the U's largest revenue contributions came from state appropriations (31%), grants and contracts (24%), and student tuition and fees (14%); the biggest expenses were instruction (31%), research (17%), and academic support (12%).
U students have less credit card debt compared to the national average, said Ed Ehlinger, Boynton Health Services director, to Regents Faculty, Staff, and Student Affairs Committee Dec. 12. He said 51% of first-year and 61.7% 2nd-year U students have at least one credit card, compared to the national average of 54% and 92%. "Of our 18- to 24-year-old students with credit cards, 7.7% had a balance greater than $3,000," he said. According to a Boynton Student Health Survey, excessive credit card debt is a problem for students. In 2001, 5.5% first-year students, 20.1% 4th-year, and 24.1% 5th-year students agreed with the statement that "a credit card is a significant stressor on my life."
Ehlinger said the issue is not about credit cards "but about the choices the students make." Many are choosing a high-expense lifestyle (for example, cellphones, private room, and eating out) or don't understand the long-term consequences of interest rates on high credit card debt. Although percentage of TC campus students with at least one credit card has dropped from 88% in 1995 to 73.5% in 2001, Ehlinger said, U must continue to educate students about the implications of high debt and making sound financial choices.
U may study electronic transfer option as means to pay tuition, said VP and executive vice provost Jones to regents Dec. 12, because of increasing demand from parents and students across the nation. U is among several universities, including Michigan State, Iowa, and U of California-Berkeley, that do not allow use of a credit card to pay tuition; 60% of public universities offer this option, he said.
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum has received 2 multi-million-dollar gifts toward construction of its new visitor center. An anonymous donor gave $3.5 million and Al and Mary Agnes McQuinn gave $1.4 million, bringing total funds raised for the facility to $19.5 million. Site preparation is near completion; construction will begin in late 2003.
U and American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) have launched a Web site that its creators say will change the way design and architecture are practiced. Site, www.informedesign.umn.edu, includes a searchable database of about 50 journals, glossary of terms, calendar of events, discussion forums, and list of collaborative research opportunities. The $1.18 million ASID-funded project is the brainchild of U's design, housing, and apparel department director Caren Martin and coordinator Denise Guerin.
Beginning spring 2003, U campuses will enter final grades via the Web. For more information, see UMC,www.crk.umn.edu/people/services/registrar/GradeReporting.htm;
UMD, www.d.umn.edu/faculty/grading; and UMTC,onestop.umn.edu/registrar/Grades/gradereporting/ Questions, e-mail Dave Krueger at krueg055@umn.edu.
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Phase II of "Make the U a Capitol Priority" campaign will run through Jan. 7, the day state legislature convenes to discuss biennial budget. Participate in campaign by sending your newly elected officials a letter of congratulations, attend town hall meetings, or call a meeting of your own. For more information about the campaign or the U's Legislative Network, e-mail Nicole Bennett at benne069@umn.edu.
Council of Academic Professionals and Administrators will meet Dec. 20, 9 a.m., 210 Donhowe, TC campus. Agenda includes proposed P&A emeritus title and postretirement health care savings account.
CROOKSTON—Rose Koch is the new vice chancellor for finance. She was formerly deputy general manager for finance and corporate planning at US West Inc. and co-owned and operated a regional financial planning business in Crookston.
UMC and Polaris Industries, Roseau, will offer a Bachelor of Manufacturing Management (B.M.M.) degree to Polaris employees. Evening classes for 4-year programs held at Polaris or Roseau high school is modeled after UMC's B.M.M. program at Marvin Windows and Doors in Warroad.
Kristi Puppe, applications programmer for UMC Media Services and the Northwest Educational Technology System, was named Employee of the Semester (fall 2002) by UMC's United Staff Association. She has been employed at UMC since 1997.
DULUTH—UMD Recreational Sports and Outdoor Program will hold its annual "Let's Have A Ball" New Year's Eve Party Dec. 31, 4–8 p.m., Sports and Health Center. Open to all; activities include skating, swimming, rollerblading, rock climbing, volleyball, face painting, obstacle course, and family films. Cost is $6 per person (those under 16 must be accompanied by an adult). Call 218-726-7128.
Pam Griffin, Access Center general disability services counselor and instructor, will be one of 20 participants in a 3-year nationwide project, "Do-It Admin," a U of Washington project based on activities of the "Do-It Prof" program, to make educational programs accessible to students with disabilities. For more information, see www.d.umn.edu/access or www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty.
MORRIS—Chancellor Schuman was a recent guest on "Open Line," KXRA radio, Alexandria. UMM's history, academic excellence, and athletics were among topics of discussion.
Materials related to reviews and book presentations of Spanish professor Vicente Cabrera's 3rd novel, Lasombra del Espia (The Shadow of the Spy) are featured in the HFA building display window. Book, published March 2002 in Ecuador, has garnered international acclaim. His 4th work of fiction is scheduled for release summer 2003.
TWIN CITIES—Parking and Transportation Services is working with U's Community Relations office to create a safer intercampus bus route along Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul following the U's acquisition of 4 new 54-seat Campus Connectors. "With the longer buses and heavy auto and pedestrian traffic, Cleveland Avenue is a very tight squeeze, especially at the Buford Avenue intersection," said Community Relations director Jan Morlock, who will meet with campus neighbors and city and county representatives to agree on a solution. Options include widening the street or reducing street parking.
David Tilman, ecology, evolution, and behavior professor in CBS, is once again the most cited ecologist and environmental scientist in the world in the last decade, according to Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), which publishes the Scientific Citation Index. Peter Reich, forest resources professor in CNR, was also ranked in the top 15. Rankings are based on the number of times peers have cited the scientists' work; ISI tallied the citations of nearly 2,000 scientists.
Another bronze bull has joined the 2 already resting on the lawns in front of Haecker Hall. Connecticut artist Peter Woytuk was selected by members of the U's Public Art on Campus program to create the sculptures in conjunction with renovation of the hall.
Annual Safety and Security on Campus report is available at www.umn.edu/umpolice/campsec1.htm; for printed copy, call 612-625-3454.
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