Controversy surrounding the athletics department's proposed budget plan and the planned building of the Henderson/Atwater parking garage will be settled during the IU board of trustees meeting today. \nMeeting for the second time this school year, the trustees will convene at the IU-East Richmond campus in Richmond, Ind., to vote on these two highly debated issues during the business meeting today. The board will also vote on the approval of the mission differentiation statements for IU and its eight campuses and a proposal will be heard to make IU the first university in the country to offer a doctorate degree in gender studies.
Henderson/Atwater \nParking Garage\nOriginally, the proposal to build a 575-space parking garage on the corner of Atwater Street and Fess Avenue near the Elm Heights residential community was scheduled to be heard during the September trustee meeting. However, IU President Adam Herbert delayed the vote -- as opposition arose from community and faculty members -- in order to foster communication between the dissenting sides. \nA month and a half later, not much has changed as resistance remains from many community members who are upset with the idea of more traffic congestion, more pollution and the diminishment of the quality of the community.\n"My position (in September), which had been to mitigate the effects of the garage, is now to reject the garage," said Elm Heights resident and IU law professor Robert Fischman. "By degrading the quality of the neighborhood to the south, the University hurts itself because that area is important in helping to recruit and retain faculty."\nBuff Brown, transportation planner for the Office of Air Quality in the State Department of Environmental Management, said he opposes the plan because alternative transportation options are available. \nWhile recognizing the concerns of community members, many within IU argue that in the near future the parking facility will be absolutely necessary. Trustee President Stephen Ferguson and IU Student Association President Alex Shortle said when the Multi-Disciplinary Science Building I is built, students and faculty will need more parking, and the Henderson/Atwater site is the best option to provide that. \n"I would also note that there are those on IU's staff who cannot afford to live near campus in areas that are poorly served by bus transportation," Ferguson said. "At this point, their only option is to drive to work."
Athletics Department\nThe athletics department's plan to remove 500 student basketball seats in Assembly Hall has been met with mixed reaction from students and trustees.\nShortle said he guarantees the trustees will pass the proposal today. He also said IUSA disapproves of the plan, along with the proposal to increase basketball ticket prices and the plan to begin charging admission for other Olympic sports. \nStudent trustee Casey Cox said in order for IU to compete in a conference with schools like Ohio State, which earns about $80 million more in revenue, something has to give. \n"We simply can't cut an athletics fee and maintain the same level of cost and benefits for ticket holders," Cox said. "I think that the students and faculty over the last two years have made it clear that they prefer the user model to the athletic fee model."\nFerguson added that he will support the proposal but cautioned that the budget is based on projections and might have to be modified again.
Mission Statements\nThe board will also vote on the mission statements for IU and all the individual campuses. Created independently every year, the statements are designed to represent the individual views of each campus. \n"Mission differentiation is one of the most important issues the board will address at this meeting," Ferguson said. "In approving the various campus mission statements, trustees will be endorsing a plan for the University's future and defining for the state the contributions that IU is making to Indiana."\nAmong IU-Bloomington's listed goals are "meeting the changing educational research needs of the state, the nation and the world" and honoring "its commitment to cutting-edge research, scholarship, arts and creative activity."\n"(The mission statements) do establish aspiration well but maybe are a little vague on program focus," said trustee Thomas Reilly Jr. "I support them because they will force all campuses to get better and the faculty, administration, board and the state commission will argue about the program anyway."\nPending approval of the trustees, the statements will then be sent to the Indiana Commission on Higher Education, which has the final authority on approving mission statements for all public colleges and universities in Indiana.
Gender Studies PH.D.\nWith a "yes" vote, the trustees can make IU the first university in the country to offer a doctorate degree in gender studies, said Suzanna Walters, chair of the Department of Gender Studies. \n"We really anticipate a quite cutting edge doctoral program that takes full advantage of the richness of IU and the uniqueness of the Kinsey Institute," Walters said. "We are extremely happy about this and are anxious to admit our first student."\nIf the trustees approve of the measure to create a Ph.D. degree in gender studies, the program will be implemented by the fall of 2006.
