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Volume 71, Issue 76,
Thursday, January 26, 2006
News FY 2006 may see mix of hikes, cuts New Senate president wants to play a role in attracting new faculty by KRISTEN YOUNG
The Faculty Senate met Wednesday in the Elizabeth Rockwell Pavilion in the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library for a presidential passing of the gavel ceremony and to discuss recommendations by the executive committee. Provost Donald Foss reported on the University budget for Fiscal Year 2006. "The University is looking at a pretty substantial fiscal year budget," Foss said. Rising energy costs, faculty benefits and lower-than-expected enrollment numbers resulted in a $17 million increase in the budget needed for FY 2006, Foss said. To meet the needs of the University, Foss said an increase in tuition is needed and budget cuts will be made. "We are thinking of a combination of both those things," Foss said. "The president of a university can hardly go report to his regents or the legislature if he is not (making budget cuts) and other (universities) are." No cuts will be made to construction projects on campus, but plans are being made to defer projects that are in the formative stages, which should save the University about $1.1 million, Foss said. Energy costs for the University have risen between 35 percent and 40 percent in the last year, Foss said. To address low student enrollment numbers, Foss said the University would have to focus on retention. "We have got to find ways to help students get through this University with a higher probability rate than we are now," Foss said. Professor Steven Craig officially became the Senate president and said he looks forward to advancing the University. "I really appreciate the opportunity to work with (the Senate) and see if we can improve the University a little bit," Craig said. Craig also said he wants to be "plugged into development," at the University and develop a "first-rate compensation and benefits plan to attract first-rate faculty." Craig was elected in a Dec. 2004 meeting and served as president-elect in 2005. The senate also discussed a textbook and educational materials policy recommended by the Faculty Affairs Committee. The new policy states that professors may require texts they have written for classes they are teaching, but to avoid a conflict of interest, a professor cannot receive any of the royalties incurred by the sale of that textbook. The policy also states that the royalties from the textbooks must be donated to a "unit or activity of (the professor's) choice …" The textbook policy was also discussed at the Undergraduate Council meeting held Wednesday in the Ezekiel Cullen Building. The Senate will meet again at 12:15 p.m. Feb. 15
in Farish Hall.
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