The Board of Trustees convened Feb. 24-25 to finalize the budget for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 and discuss its new leadership.
The Eagle met with Vice Chairman Jeff Sine to review what the Board discussed during its closed session.
• The Board of Trustees approved the budget for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, which will be the first $1 billion budget with a 3.8 percent increase in tuition, the lowest rate of tuition growth in 15 years. • The Board discussed the Campus Plan, a 10-year facilities plan that proposes turning the Nebraska Parking Lot into an East Campus and moving the Washington College of Law to the Tenley Campus. “We’re well into the process, but we have a lot of process ahead of us,” Sine said. • AU plans to raise $45 million for its new buildings and renovations, including the McKinley Building overhaul as a new School of Communication, an alumni center, the Washington College of Law’s proposed move to the Tenley Campus and Beeghley Building renovations. • A 3 percent pool from faculty benefits will be created for each college to award faculty and staff based on performance. “We’re not only committed to staying competitive with respect to hiring the best, but also to continue growing our investment in faculty and support staff,” Sine said. • Sine has taken over as Chairman from Gary Abramson and will preside over his first Board of Trustees meeting in May. Abramson stepped down as a trustee, since his term ended with the recent meeting on Feb. 25. Patrick Butler is now serving in Sine’s place as the new Vice Chairman. • The Board created Chair Emeritus in honor of Abramson’s time as chairman and elected him to be the first recipient of this award. School of International Service Dean Louis Goodman received the newly created Dean Emeritus for his work at AU. “He served as dean for 25 years and has helped build [SIS] into what it is today and the Board felt he deserved special recognition,” University Provost Scott Bass said.
pjones@theeagleonline.com
