A report commissioned by the Senate Executive Committee that focuses on the university's financial condition will be revised before its findings are presented to the full Urbana Academic Senate.
Senate leaders praised the broad scope and detail of the report, prepared by SEC budget committee chair and accountancy lecturer Michael Sandretto, but recommended changes in the report's wording to make it easier to understand and provide a more accurate interpretation of the complex numbers in the report.
SEC Chairman Roy Campbell, a professor of computer science, said the document needed to strike a "delicate balance" in describing the university's financial limitations and how that affects academic planning.
"It's going to govern a lot of our decisions going forward," he said of the budget.
Specifically, several senators expressed discomfort about a section that breaks down the effects of last year's reduction in the benefits of the state-supported pension plan. The draft says state leaders had "no choice" but to reduce pension benefits.
John Kindt, the chair of the senate benefits committee and a professor emeritus of business administration, said in fact, the state had had ample opportunity to make "remedial" changes prior to the final legislation that would have made the impact less severe for annuitants.
Senators also expressed concern about a section of the report that deals with $700 million the university has in what the report called "excess cash" - funds that are available to pay necessary expenses but to date have not been allocated.
"We don't want (senators) to leave the meeting confused," said vice chair Kim Graber, a professor of kinesiology and community health. "We have to be extra careful."
While the so-called excess funds are technically available, Sandretto said the university has more than $1.5 billion in future expected expenditures. Those obligations include back-pay due upon the resolution of UIC contract negotiations; startup packages and office space for Urbana campus science and engineering faculty; and deferred maintenance work.
The same situation exists with the university's $300 million annual operating surplus, with that money needed to cover state funding shortfalls; the UIC catch-up salary increases; a plan to add 500 faculty members on the Urbana campus; the possibility of benefit costs being transferred from the state to the university; and a planned supplemental employee pension plan.
Sandretto said the exact costs of those items are difficult to calculate at this point because they have yet to occur and therefore are speculative.
"It's a complex issue and it takes a lot to comprehend it," Sandretto said.
"What we need is a document that can be understood," said Sen. Harry Hilton, an NCSA senior research scientist, before senators sent the report back for further work.
Campbell said he was hopeful the document could still be presented to the senate before budget discussions start in earnest at the end of the semester.
Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise, in her report to the SEC, announced that a support employee has been added to the senate office and that work was being started to archive and make available online records dating back to the 1960s.
"We're going to be working to make sure all of that is put into electronic form," she said, noting additional funding has been added for the work.
Campbell, who recommended improvements to the office when he took over the chairmanship last year, said the chancellor's announcement would help "bring the senate into the modern age."
Wise also announced that a feasibility study is being commissioned by the U. of I. Foundation and Carle Clinic to determine the efficacy of creating a regional health care system independent of the Chicago campus.
And she reported on the recent $70 million matching grant announced by the federal government for the Digital Lab for Manufacturing, a Chicago-based manufacturing hub of which the U. of I. is a major partner. She said the hub would help the state of Illinois rebuild and maintain a powerful manufacturing base.
Barbara Wilson, the executive vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, reported that several changes had been made to the Provost's Communication on Specialized Faculty, following a discussion at the last senate meeting.
The communication offers guidelines for hiring and annual reviews as well as career advancement options for positions that now fall under the "other academic" category.
At the senate meeting, some senators expressed a desire to see stronger wording compelling unit leaders to follow the new guidelines and others voiced discomfort with the term "specialized."
In response to the discussion, the Office of the Provost conducted a survey asking 770 employees affected by the changes to give their opinion on the draft document.
About 28 percent replied, and of that number, most said they preferred the term "specialized" over several other options. Wilson said the wording in the communication also had been "strengthened" to better ensure unit participation.
The previous senate presentation provided a "vigorous discussion" that led to "lots of ideas" to address changes, though a vote supporting the "principles" in the communication was voided after it was determined a quorum did not exist.
The revised communication will be presented to the senate again for an endorsement of its principles.
Wilson also reported that an ad hoc review committee on faculty pay and benefits, commissioned by Campbell, was making progress and had sent a survey to be completed by peer institutions. The survey asks for detailed information about an institution's pay and benefit structure, which will then be compared with employee packages offered at the U. of I.
A discussion over whether to make the committee part of the senate's standing committee structure or transfer those duties to the existing staff benefits committee was deferred until results of the survey are complete.
Campbell said he would like to see future discussion on how to avoid the contractual pitfalls that have befallen the UIC campus, where pay and governance issues led to a recent two-day walkout and information picket organized by the faculty union there.
"Some people (on the Chicago campus) are upset," he said. "How do we address those issues here and how do we learn from our sister campus?"