The U. of I. Board of Trustees approved a resolution at its May 7 meeting meant to keep the university operating legally after its current fiscal year ends June 30.
The annual resolution is required to pay bills and maintain operations until the Legislature finalizes a new state budget for the fiscal year 2016 that begins July 1.
The resolution authorizes expenditures based on fiscal 2015 funding levels until the state’s fiscal 2016 budget is signed into law. The university’s total operating budget for fiscal 2015 is $5.6 billion.
The board will consider the university’s operating budget for fiscal 2016 later this year.
After the meeting, some trustees, President Bob Easter and other top administrators joined alumni and supporters at the state Capitol to advocate on behalf of the university as the Legislature considers decisions critical to its future.
The university’s efforts included a push for state funding to maintain the academic quality that serves the needs of students and the state.
In his fiscal 2016 budget blueprint, Gov. Bruce Rauner proposed a 31.5 percent funding cut for the state’s public universities. Officials say a reduction of that scale would slash funding by $209 million for the U. of I. and would be felt in every facet of the university’s operation.
Other business
- Trustees installed U. of I. alumna Jill Smart as a new member of the board. Smart was appointed to a six-year term in January by Gov. Bruce Rauner, along with UIC alumnus Ramon Cepeda, who was installed in March.
Smart, a Republican from Downers Grove, is president of the National Academy of Human Resources, a nonprofit organization that recognizes institutions and individuals for achievement in human resources. She retired last year from Accenture in Chicago, a management consulting and technology services firm where she worked for 33 years, the last 10 as chief human resources officer. She graduated from the Urbana campus in 1981 with a degree in business administration.
Smart and Cepeda, who also serve on the board of the U. of I. Alumni Association, fill seats held by former board Chairman Christopher Kennedy and Trustee Pamela Strobel, whose terms expired in January.
- The board reappointed Julie Zemaitis to another five-year term as chief internal auditor, effective July 1. Under Illinois law, state agencies and universities are required to appoint a chief internal auditor, who is responsible for leading internal audit operations for the three U. of I. campuses and University-related organizations. Zemaitis has served in the role since 2005.
- A new residence hall that will open in the fall of 2016 at Stanley O. Ikenberry Commons was named Wassaja Hall, honoring the first Native American student and first racial minority to graduate from the U. of I., in 1884.
Wassaja, which means “signaling” or “beckoning” in his native Yavapai language, was stolen from his family at age 5 and sold as a slave to an itinerant Italian photographer who adopted him and renamed him Carlos Montezuma.
They traveled the American Southwest on photographic expeditions and performed briefly with the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show before settling in Chicago, where Wassaja started school. Seeking a more permanent setting for his education, his adoptive father placed him in the care of a Baptist minister in Urbana, where he graduated from high school and later enrolled at the U. of I. at the age of 14.
After graduating from the U. of I., Wassaja earned his medical degree from Chicago Medical School, a branch of Northwestern University. He is believed to be the first Native American to receive a medical degree from a U.S. university.
Along with practicing medicine, Wassaja became a national leader for Native American rights and helped found the Society of American Indians, the first organization created by and for Native Americans to advocate for their rights. His activism helped secure land and water rights for the Yavapai, setting a precedent for other Native American nations.