The College's Board of Trustees
has approved a 2003-04 balanced budget that limits increases in tuition,
preserves competitive employee compensation, and meets the challenge of a
decline in endowment spending with cost containments and revenue generation.
Included in the budget:
— Tuition, room and board rates are to increase 5
percent to $36,005. Costs are $28,608 for tuition, $3,882 for room, $3,195 for
board (15 meals), $240 activity fee, and $80 for phase-in of a House System
fee.
— A commitment to continue to meet the financial
need of all students. Financial aid is to increase 8 percent over the current
year's forecasted expense to $19.8 million, $18.9 million of which will come
from restricted and unrestricted institutional funds and the balance from
Federal and state sources.
— In employee compensation, faculty and staff
earning $55,000 or less will receive a permanent increase of 2 percent. Staff
earning more than $55,000 will receive a one-time adjustment of 2 percent,
which will not be added to their base salaries. Faculty earning more than
$55,000 will receive a permanent 1 percent increase and another 1 percent as a
one-time adjustment.
— Following the recommendations of committees
established last fall, reductions totaling approximately $1.3 million have been
made in financial aid, terms abroad, athletics, printing, and travel
expenditures. In addition, an employee benefits committee is at work and the
Board of Trustees will examine the work of the six committees this summer.
In other action, the board named
three new members, John Kelly III '76, senior vice president and group
executive of the IBM Technology Group; Lawrence Pedowitz '69, attorney and
partner with Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz; and Stephen W. Ritterbush '68,
managing partner of Fairfax Partners.
The trustees authorized the
establishment of the Graduate College of Union University as a separate legal
entity to conduct graduate programs in business administration, health system
administration, educational studies, engineering and computer science.
The board authorized the purchase
of 2 Nott Terrace, the former Pedestrian Café, to be used as an additional
building for the U-Start incubator program. A donor has contributed the
$125,000 purchase price.
The trustees also authorized
improvements at Achilles Rink at an estimated budget of $700,000. Plans call
for the replacement of the mechanical ice sheet system and improved heating and
dehumidification that will allow for ice time in the summer months, and
additional revenue. Work will begin when the funds are raised.
The board declared tenurable and
promoted to associate professor David Cotter, sociology; Michael Hagerman,
chemistry; Robert Lauzon, biology; Kathryn Lesh, mathematics; and Lori Marso,
political science. David Hemmendinger was
promoted to professor of computer science.