IU trustees discuss academics, budget

The IU Board of Trustees met Thursday and Friday to discuss current and future construction projects, an update on the new academic directions committee and IU’s cost benchmarking report.

On Thursday, Trustee Patrick Shoulders whistled the Indiana fight song to let people know it was time to start.

The facilities committee was the first group in front of the board. Vice President for Capital Projects and Facilities Tom Morrison presented a PowerPoint on IU’s current construction projects.

The trustees made sure to ask whether any of the construction projects exceeded the budget.

“None of the projects that I am showing you are over budget,” Morrison said.

At IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Fine Arts Center’s design was approved. IU-South Bend’s north and south parking lots were also approved.

The next items on the agenda were the new residence hall complex and apartment complex on Third and Union streets in IU-Bloomington. The project approval was discussed for 30 minutes.

“In the next couple years, are we really going to need this new residence hall?” student Trustee Abbey Stemler asked.

Both IU Residential Programs and Services Executive Director Pat Connor and Morrison assured Stemler there is definitely a need for the new residence hall.

The board passed the new residence hall and the new apartment complex’s design approval.  

After an hour-long lunch and executive session, the trustees resumed to talk about the Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee.

The newly released academic directions research was the main topic.

Since early this year, President Michael McRobbie and Executive Vice President and Provost Karen Hanson tasked the new academic directions committee to look at other universities and see what IU can do differently to be more efficient and become more like IU’s competitors.

The report’s analysis will be looked at by the trustees and IU’s faculty and will be discussed further at the next board meeting.

Friday, the trustees restarted their meetings at 8 a.m with the discussion of the Finance and Audit Committee.

The main topic of discussion was the cost benchmarking report.

“There has been for a while a long-time mismatch between our resources and our goals,” said Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer. 

Kathleen McNeely, associate vice president for financial management services, said IU could save as much as $24 million with the help of the recommendations of the new report.

Nothing that was brought before the trustees was disproved.

The trustees will meet again May 6 on the IU-Bloomington campus.