Minutes of April 20, 1995 UPBC Meeting

       The meeting convened at 10:08 a.m. in room 817 Cathedral of Learning.

       UPBC members present were: Thomas Anderson, Toni Carbo Bearman, Jacob
Birnberg, James Cassing, George Chambers, Thomas Detre, Ronald Gardner,
Darlene Harris, James Holland, Randy Juhl, Peter Koehler, James Maher,
Franklin McCarthy, Bruce Williams, and Philip Wion.  Also present were: Joseph
Gil, William Laird, Jeffrey Liebmann, Jeffrey Masnick, Robert Pack, Kathy
Tosh, Thurman Wingrove, and Douglas Wylie.
       UPBC members not present were: Nitin Badjatia, James Isaacs, Glenn
Nelson, Jeffrey Romoff, Michael Stuckart, Ben Tuchi, Julius Youngner, and
Judith Zimmerman.

Approval of Minutes

       The minutes of the April 4 meetings were approved.  Maher reported that
the Board of Trustees Budget Committee met and was generally supportive of the
current FY 1996 budget parameters calling for a 4.5% tuition increase.  Wion
stressed the importance of distributing the parameters to units soon.

Review of Capital Projects

       Maher suggested methods by which the University's list of capital
projects could be reviewed given the current budget assumptions regarding debt
service and programmatic commitments.  He suggested either forming a working,
ad hoc committee of Provost, Business and Finance, and UPBC representatives,
or reactivating the UPBC Subcommittee on Capital Projects.  In response to
McCarthy's question, Maher replied that no action has been taken on a new bond
issue to fund capital projects.  Birnberg emphasized the importance of
auditing capital expenditures, especially with regard to projected revenue
generation.  Bearman stressed the need to reexamine the University's fund
raising capability.  Detre expressed concern about the impact of negative
publicity being generated as a result of statements made by members of the
University community.
       Detre suggested that the Provost, given his role in setting the
University's academic priorities, chair the proposed committee.  Koehler
stated that the committee must have the ability to suggest new solutions and
not simply review proposed projects as submitted.  Wion supported the idea of
an ad hoc committee with representation from the Provost, Business and
Finance, and the UPBC, especially given the need to perform an evaluation in
time for the submission of the capital budget to the Board of Trustees.  Maher
added that this group could also frame questions whose answers would determine
long-term priorities this fall.  Based on the general consensus, Maher agreed
to form the representative group.

Discussion of Plant Funds

       Laird continued a presentation on University Plant Funds begun at the
March 16 UPBC meeting.  He explained that the Plant Fund accounts for long-
lived assets and retirement of indebtedness associated with those assets.  The
Plant Fund currently consists of $300 million in long-term debt (bonds and
notes payable).  Among the assets in the Plant Fund are $191 million in cash
and cash equivalents, $14 million in Trustee-held funds for debt service and
replacement reserves, and $566 million in net value of property, plant, and
equipment.
       Laird detailed current cash Plant Fund balances, which consist of
borrowed funds, restricted gifts, 50% of unrestricted gifts, debt service
reserve transfers (such as those from auxiliaries), fund surpluses (from
auxiliaries and service centers), departmental unrestricted transfers for
construction projects, and interest earnings.  He detailed restricted
commitments to specific capital projects, which totalled $4.3 million as of
June 30, 1994.  He then detailed the funds set aside for designated renewal
and other projects, which amounted to $70.7 million as of June 30, 1994.  The
largest account, General Plant Funds, represents a general reserve of $11.1
million for capital projects.
       Laird then explained the Mandatory Debt Reserves fund balance of $109.6
million as of June 30, 1994, which is the result of an internal discipline
that ensures that the University maintains an appropriate amount of cash to
pay for its external debt requirements.  In response to Maher's question, he
stated that capital budget requirements of auxiliary operations and cost
centers should be more closely linked to the University's long-range strategic
planning.  Birnberg agreed that the University should improve the method by
which decisions are made to spend surpluses.  Chambers added that the
decisions on using surpluses at the regional campuses are more directly tied
to campus priorities and supported the suggestion that similar efforts occur
University-wide.

CIDDE Proposal

       Maher distributed a proposal merging the University Center for
Instructional Resources (UCIR), the University External Studies Program
(UESP), the Technology and Evaluation Center (TEC Lab) of Academic Computing
in Computing and Information Services, and the Office of Faculty Development
to form the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education
(CIDDE).  Pack stated that the proposed Center will redistribute current
resources within the affected units and require no new funds for its
establishment.  Maher asked members to review the proposal and submit any
comments.

       The meeting adjourned at 12:01 p.m.