AHC F&P

Minutes

December 15, 2008

4:30 ~ 6:00

Children’s Rehab Center, Room 406

These minutes reflect discussion and debate at a closed meeting of a committee of the University of Minnesota Senate or Twin Cities Campus Delegation; none of the comments, conclusions, or actions reported in these minutes represents the views of, nor are they binding on, the Senate or Delegation, the Administration, or the Board of Regents.

Present: Paul Olin (chair), John Connett, Helen Hansen, David Lee

Guest: Professor Brian Isetts

Absent: Yusuf Abul-Hajj

Regrets: Elizabeth Nunnally

Chair Olin introduced Professor Isetts, chair of the Academic Health Center Faculty Consultative Committee (AHC FCC hereafter). Professor Isetts greeted members and briefly explained the relationship of the Finance and Planning committee (F&P hereafter), as a subcommittee to the AHC FCC. He informed members that he has been visiting all of the AHC schools’ faculty councils or Faculty Consultative Committees to address the need for communication between committees and to share ideas on how all of the committees can work more cohesively. Isetts is aware of the major budget issues that the F&P will be discussing in the near future and would like to attend the F&P meetings on a semi-regular basis, as his schedule permits, to keep abreast of issues, ideas and progress. Isetts was informed that there are two empty seats on the F&P committee, one for Clinical Sciences and one for Basic Sciences, and he is taking steps to fill them. Professor Isetts was unable to stay for the entire meeting and departed at 5:00 p.m.

Chair Olin asked members if they have had access and the opportunity to review their school’s budgets as he thinks it is important for members and faculty in general to see the budgets. Professor Hansen stated that when she was a division head, she received general overviews of her school’s budget but now that she is no longer in that position and budgets have become very centralized, she does not receive any budget information outside of the information distributed campus wide regarding the difficult financial times that the University is facing. Professor Connett said that he meets with his dean and others on a monthly basis and has a clear view of their budget and that there are no mysteries as far as the finances go. He was asked if the budget was transparent down to the faculty level and he stated that it was not but that it does not seem necessary and that no one asks about the budget. Connett said there were five positions open at his school, which were approved to be filled. Professor Lee said that the budget at the Veterinary School was transparent down to the faculty but observed that faculty seem to be uninvolved. He guessed that it might be because they have not been included in the past but he was not sure. Lee said that his school was one of the first to be affected by the declining economy with layoffs that occurred in late November. Olin recounted when the School of Dentistry was threatened with closure in the late 1980s and a mass reconstruction ensued. Amongst many other changes, the school was reduced to having only one dean. Olin said it has been quite a while since he has heard about the school’s finances but he thinks all schools should have equal access to their budgets and that it is appropriate in doing so as they are public. He said that the current focus for F&P should be to develop budgetary principals and put strategies into place to progress out of the current financial crisis. He said that part of the strategic discovery should include a record of who is being hired and why, along with looking into what new employees are bringing to the schools that hire them. Professor Hansen asked about other schools’ budgetary models in regards to efficiency comparisons. Olin responded that Associate Vice President Elizabeth Nunnally, Academic Health Center, will be presenting a budget overview of the schools, possibly at the next F&P meeting, which will reveal each schools’ budgets and fuel ideas about putting some directive budgetary principals together.

Professor Connett reiterated his experience with the Office of Information Technology Department (OIT hereafter), in regard to their funding as well as services provided. As members had discussed in previous meetings, the ITV classrooms are going to need their technology updated rather soon. The current classrooms that offer ITV technology are few, in high demand and have poor quality. Connett has spoken with OIT staff regarding the possibilities and costs of upgrading the classrooms. He was quoted an approximate $100,000 ~ $150,000 per classroom for upgrades, which he thinks is overpriced, but stated that there is no obligation from OIT to provide itemized verification for their services. Members agreed that when considering every financial element to implement positive budget strategies, OIT is a department that needs close review with an emphasis on transparency and the requirement of justification for their service fees. There does not seem to be any discussion regarding costs of services from OIT. It simply appears that they have a set rate that they charge, not matter what the job is. It was pointed out that Classroom Services is another department that is not controlled by any specific entity that is apparent and has a similar operational mode to that of OIT. Connett pointed out that possible future losses of faculty and services would mean a decrease in OIT’s workload, which, in turn should mean a decrease in their staff but he does not believe that will happen. Furthermore, he thinks OIT may ask for financial increases and said job studies would be appropriate for OIT or any other department requesting increases. Olin agreed and stated that any financial request beyond the rate of inflation needs external oversight. Connett said that if there were an oversight group, schools could see all of the budget and expenditures of the various, independent groups. Members agreed that either the oversight does not currently exist or that it is very weak.

Chair Olin informed members that the police department proposed to F&P to add five more police officers to campus. He noted that the cost of this would go into a cost pool, as do many other University expenses, and distributed among all the schools. He pointed out that cost pool budgets often create an uneven distribution of funds among departments and schools. His example of this was that if certain schools were to cut non-stipend or part-time faculty and others did not, the money saved from schools that did would then go into the cost pool and be redistributed evenly among all schools allowing schools that did not cut to retain their faculty and acquire more operational funding.

Olin said that it would be beneficial in their planning to look at what has happened in regards to administrative costs within the past five years. Connett questioned who could provide that information. Connett also noted that should faculty be cut before considering decreases in heavily financed departments, the result could be that students choose another school, one that may have more resources and financial stability.

Chair Olin adjourned the meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Lisa Towry

University Senate Office