IFO Board of Directors Report
March 23, 2006
Present: Cindy Phillips, Nancy Black, Wayne Alexander, Mike Ruth, Cathy Summa, Cindy Killion, Elizabeth Dunn (replacement for Derek Webb), Dave Larkin, Annette Schoenberger, Debra Japp, Gwen Griffin, Roger Severns (replacement for Georgia Holmes), Steve Bohnenblust, Gerald Toland, George Seldat, Andy Larkin, Judy Kilborn, Becky Omdahl
Not Present: Rose Weaver, Georgia Holmes, Derek Webb
Approval of January 26-27 Board Minutes:
A motion was made to approve the minutes from the January 26-27, 2006 IFO Board of Directors meeting. Carried
E-Vote on 2004 Delegate Minutes:
Nancy Black reported out that the e-vote conducted last week on the approval of the 2004 Delegate Assembly minutes passed by a majority of 15 who approved and two abstentions.
Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship Dinner:
The Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship Dinner will be held on March 30 in Woodbury at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. There will be several state university recipients this year. We still have tickets if you are interested.
06-07 IFO Meetings Calendar:
The calendar was presented to the Board of Directors as approved by the Executive Committee.
April 11 Election:
Nancy Black reminded the Board that on April 11 the vote for the IFO President for the 06-08 term will be conducted. Most campuses are handling the vote electronically.
Meet and Confer Update:
In an effort to save paper and because the minutes can be found on the IFO website, Board members were encouraged to view the minutes online from the January 13 and March 3 meet and confers.
Executive Committee Update:
The minutes from the February and March Executive Committee meetings were distributed to the Board members in their packet for review.
Committee Vacancies Reminders:
We have two vacancies on the CTL Steering Committee and three vacancies on the MN Online Council. We will take a vote at the next Board meeting. Please talk to your colleagues about these vacancies and direct them to your FA President. Only one name from each campus that does not have reps should come forward.
Executive Session:
A motion was made to enter into Executive Session. 4:14 p.m. Carried
Staff re-entered the room at 5:03 p.m.
Treasurer’s Report:
January and February financials were reviewed by the Board. Additionally the Board reviewed the Budget and Dues Hearing packet for the Delegate Assembly. At the last Board meeting the investment policy was discussed. What does Merrill Lynch charge us for the services that they provide us? Annette will provide the information at the next Board meeting.
In reviewing the Budget and Dues Hearing packet, the OP say in years without the DA the Board approves budgets and dues increases. Last year we did not have a dues increase. The DA has to approve the budget for FY07; the FY08 budget was included in the hearing packet but that is for the Board to decide next year. Annette is recommending a 6.67% dues increase. Annette walked the Board through the Budget and Dues Hearing packet. The proposed dues increase does not apply to adjunct and community faculty.
IFO Condo Update:
Nancy was directed to sell the condo as soon as practical in September 2005. The condo was listed at $229,000. We hope to sell it soon. Nancy thanked Steve Bohnenblust for doing much of the leg-work for the condo realtor selection.
Executive Session:
There was a motion to enter into Executive Session. 5:30 p.m. Carried
Staff returned at 5:49 p.m.
The Board supports the budget proposal and the budget and dues hearing information packet and recommends approval by the DA. Carried
FIC Requests:
The FIC requested that the Board approve a motion to recognize IFO members Amy Phillips and Phyllis May-Machunda with the Outstanding Contributions to the IFO Award at the DA Banquet. A motion was made to approve the FIC recommendation. Carried
The FIC requested that the Board approve a motion to award the 2006-2008 Feminist Issues $3,000 Grant to Dr. Michelle Malott for her proposal (MSUM Women’s Health Series: Activism and Involvement in Women’s Health Issues). A motion was made to approve the FIC recommendation. Carried
The FIC requested that the Board approve a motion to allow the FIC to use its remaining budget for FY06 to provide funding for up to two FIC members to attend the National Women’s Studies Association Conference on June 15-18 . A motion was made that this be in the purview of the committee within their own budget allowing them to spend the money in this proposed manner. Carried
Budget Committee:
Dave Bouchard gave a budget committee report. He asked the Board to adopt the presented criteria and proposal. Motion to endorse the four bulleted guiding principles for higher education funding as follows: Carried
· Transparency and Marketability. The state contribution to supporting students should be readily apparent, and the plan should be marketable to students, legislators and the general public. The value created by this contribution should be easily communicated and understood by all state constituencies.
· Stability, Predictability and Manageability. The plan should provide stable and predictable funding to higher education institutions and institutions should have the ability to locally control and manage their sources of revenue. There should be an appropriate balance of centralization versus decentralization, with a bias toward local control. Local institutions should be able to gain economic benefit from effective management. Funding formula changes should allow sufficient periods of adjustment for institutions to avoid major disruptions of critical services.
· Equitable and Enrollment Driven. The plan should provide equitable funding for students, and have an enrollment-driven component.
· Efficiency. The plan should support the efficient delivery of credit-based instruction and the efficient management of assets such that maximum funding goes directly toward instruction. As noted, there should be a bias toward local control of assets at the institutional level.
Motion: Return to Executive Session. (7:22 p.m.) Passed.
IFO-IFOSA Contract:
Report out from Executive Session: MOTION: Approve the IFO-IFOSA Contract. Passed
Budget:
The discussion on the Budget Committee’s report on higher education funding reform continued. Among the concerns expressed: Make it compatible with the Dream Act, make sure wording encompasses a broader array of academic services (such as libraries), the proposal escalates framing education in terms of the “consumer,” expand the guiding principles to encompass ideals beyond the budget (high quality education, affordable), won’t the marked increase in the stated tuitions create problems (for non-residents, PR in general), and the proposal definition should seek research allocations for ALL universities in the state (not just UMN). Board members were asked to solicit additional feedback from their campuses and forward it on to the Budget Committee.
MOTION: Ask the Budget Committee to respond to concerns raised by both the Board and faculty on campuses and bring a revised proposal for higher education funding reform to the April Board Meeting for action. Passed.
Government Relations Report:
Russ Stanton presented the Government Relations report. In addition to referring Board members to the printed report, Russ expressed appreciation to faculty who participated in Lobby Days (March 22-23), highlighted legislative action on the union contracts, the bonding bill, the marriage amendment, alternative teacher licensure, speaking English clearly, Dream Act, ethics charges against Dean Elton Johnson, concurrent enrollment, etc., encouraged faculty to send “thank you” letters to legislators working hard on behalf of higher education, and reminded faculty that the gubernatorial candidates are speaking at the Delegate Assembly tomorrow.
MOTION: The IFO opposes the bill on clear English pronunciation. Passed.
Sense of the Body: Thanks to Russ Stanton for all his excellent work organizing and hosting Lobby Days and staying abreast of legislative actions.
Academic Affairs Report:
Debra Japp addressed the actions of MnSCU and IFO Committees addressing academic issues. She reported that Transfer Oversight Committee would like to ask campuses to conduct an inventory of their MN Transfer Curriculum courses and how they meet liberal/general education requirements. They would like IFO support with this planned request for course review.
MOTION: The IFO supports the participation in the proposed inventory and review of liberal/general education courses and the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum. Passed
MOTION: The IFO requests that MnSCU funds the previous motion. Passed
Additional items reflected in the written Academic Affairs Report were also presented.
MOTION: Appoint Annette Schoenberger as a temporary replacement for Debra Japp for NCAT/CTL meetings which IFO representatives are unable to attend. Passed
Audit Reports:
Nancy Black asked Board members to review the audit items in the packet. They will be discussed at the April Board meeting.
Confidential Assistant:
MOTION: Approve the 3/2/06 position description for a Confidential Assistant amended to read “bachelors preferred” (instead of B. A.) and move ahead with filling this position. Passed
The Board discussion clarified that this position was not a member of the IFOSA and supervises no-one.
Membership and Dues:
Nancy Black said Cindy Finch has been doing an excellent job reviewing membership lists and identifying failures to collect dues owed. One of the issues is that faculty who teach a one credit course twice a year should be paying dues, and they are currently not.
Happy Birthday to Nancy Black! It was this past week. Everyone was invited to celebrate with cake.
Adjourned