Recommendations from a yearlong review of university administrative functions will be revealed soon, U. of I. President Bob Easter said on Jan. 27 in his annual meeting with the Senate Executive Committee on the Urbana campus.
Easter said the recommendations are the result of work completed by seven review teams that met to consider all administrative units and their functions. Units also were given the opportunity to respond to the review teams' findings.
The final report has been reviewed by the administrative review steering committee and Vice President for Academic Affairs Christophe Pierre, as well as by campus provosts and chancellors.
Easter said he plans to meet with U. of I. Board of Trustees Chairman Christopher Kennedy before revealing the recommendations and a timeline to implement them.
"It's been a very valuable process," Easter said. "There have been a lot of voices involved and some really great suggestions and ideas for how to identify outdated or redundant functions within the university administration."
He said the recommendations "reconsider administrative roles" and address ambiguities in the administrative reporting structure to ensure the administration "is responsive to the core business of academic programs."
"The hope is to create a sense of ownership on the campuses" when it comes to long-range university decision making.
Easter said there are plans this spring to initiate a formal campus budget review process that will include the input of campus and faculty leaders. A process already is underway to study the structure of the university's health system and it was a topic at last month's board retreat.
With a board policy that ties tuition increases to the rate of inflation, lagging state support and reductions in federal grant funding, the president said financial planning is more important than ever in preserving the university's academic mission.
"We do have enough information to make reasonable projections over the next few years," he said, noting that Pierre is formulating a three-year budget projection.
Easter said he is committed to offering annual merit salary increases for employees, as well as a supplemental pension plan in an effort to remain competitive in hiring with peer institutions. He said the additional money to support those programs would have to come from both inside and outside the university.
"We're looking for ways to control our costs and increase (funding) opportunities," he said.
He warned that if the temporary increase in the state's personal income tax rate expires next year as scheduled, it could lead to "onerous cuts" to the state education budget and further exacerbate the university's financial challenges.
Easter said he also is working to more clearly define the role of the presidency, ahead of a search scheduled to begin later this year for a new president. Easter's term ends June 30, 2015.
He said faculty members should help lead the search for the next president and that he thinks more clearly defining the expectations of his office will help match the new president to the university's needs.
"What should (the president) go about doing on a daily basis?" he asked rhetorically. Easter said his presidency has been heavy on external leadership, considering all the legislative issues affecting the university that have needed attention. He said much of his tenure has found him in Springfield and Chicago, meeting with government and business leaders.
"There is a need for us to be at the table when there are significant conversations going on throughout the state," he said. "Not being there takes you out of that."
He said a board of trustees retreat scheduled for July likely would be used to further discuss how to better define the president's role.
"I don't think we can be in a holding pattern for the next 1 1/2 years until someone else comes in," he said.
Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise shared the findings of a report prepared by consultant Business Cluster Development, which she said supports the Visioning Future Excellence theme of economic development. The report was commissioned by the chancellor's Economic Development Advisory Group, which is comprised of campus and local business leaders.
Titled "Identification of Technology Clusters for the U. of I.," the report says that focusing on and developing those clusters can drive both a community and campus that are working in unison.
"Our goal would be to help the whole region grow and become a money generator as opposed to a money user," she said. "This study makes it clear that as our community grows stronger, our ability to attract and retain outstanding faculty - to build broader collaborative networks, and to build our research infrastructure - are also greatly enhanced."
Naturally occurring local clusters identified in the report include data analytics and management, and computing; biomedical and bioengineering; and energy.
The report said six key community assets and resources provide a strong foundation for all three clusters. They are: the U. of I; the technical talent pool; the hospitals; the entrepreneurial ecosystem; the Research Park and its already established corporate relationships; and the culture of entrepreneurship in Illinois.
"Overall, the consensus is leveraging the assets and reputation of the U. of I. is key to economic development in the community and growing the targeted clusters," the report said.
Wise said developing the clusters through university partnerships and even active business recruitment would have a positive affect not just on the Central Illinois region.
"If you want flowers to grow in Chicago, you've got to keep planting seeds, fertilizing and watering them down here," she said. "We need to find ways to build in these areas in a complementary way."