Around The Campus

Faculty Council discusses cost efficiency\nAt Tuesday's Bloomington Faculty Council meeting, several general business items took place. \nVice President Judith Palmer, chief financial officer, presented a report on the Review of Non-Academic Administrative services and the Arthur Andersen Report, which described how consultants have been sought out to cut costs and improve efficiency in the University's infrastructure.\n"IU has demonstrated over the years a great deal of caution and care to keep cost low," Palmer said. "(IU) President Myles Brand had come to us and asked us to consider what areas should be reviewed and Arthur Andersen was consulted."\nArthur Andersen made 16 recommendations on how to cut costs, mostly about students. Other specific tactics were suggested, such as staff reorganizations and reassignments, more preferred vendor purchasing and auxiliary enterprises.\nAlso, a report on the progress made in implementing the Information Technology Strategic Plan was presented by Michael McRobbie, vice president for information technology and chief information officer. He said the completion of preparation for the plan was a major achievement and the lives of every member of the University will be affected by the IT progress. \n"I believe that the implementation of the plan has been very successful," McRobbie said. "But now that it's reaching its halfway point in its lifespan, I feel a 'midterm' assessment should be carried out."\nMcRobbie suggested the progress made should be analyzed and that areas that need work be highlighted. The current plan includes many points, such as replacing all the desktop computers in the University every three years and creating financial arrangements to fund the replacements.\nUtility project forces road closings\nTemporary road closures at two locations on the IU campus will begin next week.\nThe city utilities department is extending a water line that will affect the intersection of 10th Street and Jordan Avenue from March 12-16. \nTenth Street will be closed from Jordan Avenue east to Union Street on Monday and Tuesday.\nA Law Lane detour will be posted. \nWednesday, Thursday and Friday, Jordan Avenue will be closed from 10th Street to Law Lane, with a detour posted for either Fee Lane or Union Street. Tenth Street traffic might be restricted to one lane while Jordan Avenue is closed.\nThe second project also begins March 12 and is expected to take three weeks. A sanitary sewer line is being worked on at the intersection of 7th Street and Woodlawn Avenue north on Woodlawn to 10th Street.\nDuring most of the work period, Woodlawn Avenue will be closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic from 7th Street north to 10th Street.\nLocal traffic will be allowed to homes and businesses. \nFor more information on these projects, contact Doug Jones of City of Bloomington utilities at 349-3634. Updates will be posted on the IU community relations Web site at www.indiana.edu/~comrel.\nResearcher named Waters Chair in business\nAlan M. Rugman, one of the world's leading researchers in the field of multinational business, has been selected as the first recipient of the L. Leslie Waters Chair in International Business in the Kelley School of Business. \nDean Dan Dalton made the announcement March 5.\nThe Waters Chair is named in honor of the business professor who helped implement the post-World War II internationalization.\nRugman is visiting from Templeton College at the University of Oxford in England, where he served as the Thames Water Fellow in strategic management.\nRugman is also a Fellow of the Academy of International Business and of the Royal Society of Arts and has been identified as one of the most frequently cited scholars in international business. He has traveled across North and South America, in Western Europe and in Australia and East Asia lecturing.\nThe professor's research has recently focused on global strategic management, while much of his earlier research centered on the theory of the multinational enterprise.