Notes from March 1998 Regents Meeting

The regents held their monthly meeting on Monday, March 2. All the regents were present:

Ann Murphy Daily
William Gruner
Sidney Gutierrez
Randall Horn
Robert Taylor

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Sidney Gutierrez was elected president of the board, and Student Regent William Gruner was selected secretary/treasurer. Gutierrez replaced Ann Murphy Daily as president. Both Gutierrez and New Mexico Tech President Dr. Dan Lopez commended Daily for her leadership during the past year.

NEW REGENT

Dr. Robert Taylor of Silver City was introduced as Tech's newest regent. Taylor, an educational consultant and executive director of the National Center for Research in Vocational Education at Ohio State University for more than 20 years, said he was "glad to be part of the team." Taylor, who replaces Chuck Zimmerly on the board, was confirmed during the recent legislative session.

STUDENT INPUT

Lopez announced that the Student Association and Graduate Student Association had asked that a member of each organization be allowed to serve as ex-officio (non-voting) members of the board of regents. Carlos Romero, Tech student and president of the Associated Students of New Mexico, supported the idea, saying that students did not feel welcome at regents meeting and needed a "champion." Romero also pointed out the Student Regent Bill Gruner did not represent the student body, but rather brought a student point-of-view to the board. Lopez suggested and Romero supported adding a specific agenda item for students to each meeting. Gutierrez extended an invitation to all students to attend the monthly meetings and pointed out that students who wish to be included in the agenda needed to provide background material to the board before the actual meeting. The regents will discuss the issue further at their April meeting.

SALARY ADJUSTMENTS

Lopez reported that, assuming the legislative budget is signed by the governor, Tech staff can expect a 4.5 percent across-the-board increase in their salaries. Faculty members, who are rated on a merit basis, will receive an average 5.5 percent increase. Lopez also said that there may be sufficient funds to address a portion of both the gender equity problem and the problem of compression. Lopez announced that the administration is considering a tuition increase to fund salary improvements. He reassured the board that financial aid and scholarships would be raised so that few students would actually have to pay the increase out of their pockets. In addition to financial aid, proceeds from the annual Tech President's Golf Tournament would be available to help students, as well. The administration will bring its proposal for tuition to the regents at the April meeting.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Lopez summarized the outcome of the 1998 legislative session for New Mexico Tech:

6 percent increase in the Instruction and General (I&G) budget
4.5 percent salary increase for employees
10 percent increase in the equipment formula
increases in the budgets of the Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Petroleum Recovery Research Center (PRRC), Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC), and the Geophysical Research Center
$100,000 to continue PRRC's GO-TECH program
restored funding for the New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair and the New Mexico Science Olympiad
about $7.3 million in capital outlay (part of the General Obligation bond to be voted on in November), including an additional $2.5 million for the Jones Hall addition, $3.5 million to remodel either Weir or Cramer halls, $490,000 for infrastructure, and $447,000 for a new student database.

ENROLLMENT

Preliminary enrollment figures for the fall 1998 semester show applications up from 657 last year at this time to 843 this year. The number of students who have paid their admission deposits is also up--from 91 last year to 106 this year.

PERSONNEL MATTERS

The following announcements were made regarding personnel:

Drs. Alan Blyth and Peter Mozley have been approved for sabbatical leaves
Dr. Al Smoake has been named chair of the biology department
Dr. Carole Yee has been named associate vice president for academic affairs
Dr. Thomas Kieft has been named associate vice president for research
Kay Krehbiel has been named director of the library.

The board approved the appointment of Eric Small as assistant professor of hydrology and research hydrologist and granted emeritus status to Dr. John Hawley of the Bureau.

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION COMMITTEE

The Excellence in Education Committee continues to pursue ways to hold institutions of higher education accountable to the legislature and the public.

Lopez reported that the Council of Presidents (made up of the presidents of the six, four-year universities) will be working to develop measures which are unique to each institution.

The committee has proposed several possible measures to judge an institution by, including the rate of graduation, the percentage of students who remain in New Mexico, and the number of jobs a university creates.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

The regents approved a request for bid for an addition to the EMRTC building for a counter-terrorism center and a capital outlay request for construction of a building which will house the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) national seismological instrument center.

A revenue bond for about $2 million will be issued to pay for the new construction.

GRADUATING CLASS

The regents approved the list of December 1997 candidates for graduation.

RUGBY

The board of regents passed a resolution to wish the Tech rugby team "the best of luck" as they depart for their tour of Wales.

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Last updated: 1998/03/05 22:00:13,