A live web stream of the meeting can be found at http://www.azregents.edu/aborlive/default.aspx

FRIDAY

11:50 a.m. 

The board is adjourned. Its next meeting will be Feb. 17-18 at ASU. Check back with the Wildcat for more in-depth coverage of today’s events.  

11:42 a.m. 

The board approved a trust agreement between the UA and the UA Foundation  to manage the assets of university pooled endowments.

From the proposal:

“”The University believes that it will directly benefit from these services in many ways, including but not limited to, additional donations to existing University endowment accounts and substantial improvement in the timeliness and consistency of reporting on endowment accounts to University departments and donors.””

The UA is projecting a net savings of $50,000 from lower management costs as a result of this agreement.  

11:32 a.m.

The board has approved a two-year contract extension for UA head baseball coach Andrew Lopez, at $128,750 per year. His contract now runs through 2015. 

10:58 a.m. 

The board approved new guidelines for TRIF funding for fiscal years 2012 through 2016. Further analysis to come.   

10:45 a.m. 

The board voted unanimously to allow its Public Outreach and Legislative Affairs Committee to take stances on legislative issues on behalf of the board for the upcoming legislative session. They also approved a measure that will allow the UA University Medical Center Corporation to sell revenue bonds. 

10:25 a.m. 

The regents approved a plan to construct a new facility for the ASU business school, on the condition that ASU secures at least $12 million in gift funding to supplement the expected cost of $58.5 million. 

Several regents expressed concerns over the cost of the project, particularly the cost per square foot, which is an estimated $468. 

“”My only point is that I know we want to build these building to last, which is good, but I still think we can wring out a cheaper price per square foot,”” Regent Mark Killian said. 

Regent chair Mariucci shared his concerns. 

“”I think the cost per square foot is insane,”” she said, “”but I completely support the building, I completely support the need for the building.””

ASU President Michael Crow said he also wants to lower the cost of the project, and that ASU will continue to explore avenues to accomplish that. 

Regent Dennis DeConcini wondered if approving funding for new buildings was the right thing to do during a time of economic stress. 

“”We are hurting,”” he said, “”and if the legislature does what, god forbid, they’re talking about doing, then this is a severe problem.”” 

10:08 a.m. 

Representatives from NAU have also presented a Capitol Development Plan, which includes three projects totaled at $125.4 million, and a third-party project to build two new residence halls on campus. Projects slated for development are a new campus parking structure to accommodate higher enrollment levels, and new science and health and multi-use facilities

The board approved both the ASU and NAU plans unanimously. 

10:00 a.m. 

Morgan Olsen, the executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer at ASU presented ASU’s 2011 Capital Development Plan, which is comprised of five projects estimated at $224 million and six other third-party projects. These projects include lab renovations, expanding dining services as ASU West and the ASU polytechnic campus, residence hall upgrades and renovations, and a new facility for the ASU business school. 

9:47 a.m.

Regent Anne Mariucci gave a brief presentation summarizing a meeting of the ABOR Audit Committee. She discussed falling state support for the university system (state appropriations from the general fund have fallen over 10 percent since 2002) and praised universities for finding alternative sources of funding.  

9:30 a.m. 

Meeting officially called to order. The regents vote unanimously to reduce the Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF) investment at Northern Arizona University for management of the Arizona Universities Network from $1.6 million to $1.1 million. 

“”Under the enterprise model the intent is for each university to be responsible for developing and offering their own online programs and services,”” said Fred Hurst, vice president for extended learning and dean of distance learning at NAU. 

NAU is allotted the $1.1 million to aid in degree programs and debt reduction services. 

9:08 a.m. 

We are back in the Grand Ballroom of the union for the second day of the Arizona Board of Regents’ meeting. Regular updates will follow as they become available.  

THURSDAY

4:24 p.m.

The Regents have adjourned for the day. They will resume at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow in the Grand Ballroom of the union. 

4:05 p.m.

The Regents voted to endorse the proposal for the shared course numbering system proposal handed down by the Academic Affairs Committee. This is a shared unique numbering system which would not change how any university courses are numbered, but would “” form a bank of identifiable common courses that would be mapped to an institution’s existing courses.””

Regent Calderon stayed true to his word and voted no on the measure. 

3:57 p.m.

President Crow said he thought the course numbering debate was being erroneously characterized as a mechanical issue, as if a computer program were malfunctioning. He said the larger issue is ensuring that courses are actually similar and equitable for transfer credit. 

“”Just saying something is the same doesn’t make it so,”” Crow said.  

3:52 p.m.

Regent Ginther said she believed students were not adequately involved in the process for developing the shared course numbering system and, in her opinion, the Arizona Students Association is dissatisfied with the version of the system that is being debated. 

Regent Ernest Calderon said he will not support the system as is.

“”I have to respectfully support the students on this matter,”” Calderon said.

Superintendent-elect Huppenthal said this is a real problem, and shared a story on how his nephew experienced issues transferring courses between the UA and ASU.    

3:42 p.m.

The Regents are in the midst of a discussion on whether to endorse a shared course numbering system as specified in the recently passed S.B. 1186. 

Both Regents Fred DuVal and Jennifer Ginther said some data is missing, namely the cost of implementing different kinds of systems. Ginther also lamented the lack of student involvement throughout the process.  

“”My fear is that if we keep talking about it, talking about it, messing around with it, it’s never going to happen,”” Killian said. 

3:29 p.m.

The board unanimously approved five-year strategic plans for all three Arizona universities for fiscal year 2012. These plans will be submitted to the Arizona legislature in January. 

3:11 p.m.

Regent Mark Killian questioned whether legislators recognize the economic impact universities have in Arizona, specifically addressing the goal of growing total university research expenditures to $2 billion by 2020. 

“”I don’t think the legislature ever focuses on the research expenditures of the universities,”” Killian said. 

Shelton said the UA will spend approximately $600 million in research expenditures this year. 

2:57 p.m.

UA President Robert Shelton said one of the biggest challenges facing the university system in Arizona is being able to both attract and hold on to talented faculty, staff, and students. 

“”It all really revolves around attracting and retaining top faculty and that’s where I feel we have tremendous vulnerability,”” Shelton said.   

2:52 p.m. 

Anderes spoke on privatization and how it relates to universities. He spoke on how universities are privatizing residence halls and eventually entire programs. 

“”There’s a lot of complexity to this, when we start talking about privatizing a program we talk about something being self-sufficient,”” Anderes said. “”The goal is for it to be as high quality and productive as possible.””

ASU President Michael Crow discussed the ongoing privatization of ASU’s law school, saying the process is more about finding alternative means of funding to ensure viability then it is “”giving up”” a program. 

“”It’s not privatization as in changing the mission or changing the purpose,”” Crow said.   

2:39 p.m.

ABOR President Tom Anderes is discussing recommendations on how best to implement the Enterprise model for Arizona universities. He is recommending examining how tuition is determined in order to bring the UA, ASU, and Northern Arizona University more on par with respective peer institutions, and how best to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the universities. 

“”What we have to bring forward … is the efforts that have taken place already, that there’s already been a lot of work,”” Anderes said.  

“”But there’s more things that we can be doing.”” 

2:15 p.m. 

The last speaker was Elma Delic, board of directors chair of the Arizona Students Association, who urged the board to implement a common course numbering system as proposed in S.B. 1186. She said implementation of any other system would not best serve the students and taxpayers of Arizona. 

“”We urge your support in helping us truly solve this issue,”” she said.   

2:07 p.m.

John Washington, a member of the student group UA for Border Justice, spoke out against Senate Bill 1070, calling the law “”fear mongering.”” He urged university leadership to take a definitive stance against the legislature, and the legislators that supported it. 

“”Fear of who you are and where you come from does not belong on our campus, or anywhere,”” he said. 

2:05 p.m.

Edith Garwood, the Amnesty International USA Country Specialist for Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and the Palestinian Authority, spoke about the Caterpillar Corporation and its role in what she described as “”human rights violations”” saying the company’s equipment had been used to destroy property and infrastructure in Palestine. 

1:57 p.m.

Alison Betts, the vice-president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council, spoke on tuition and fees and how administrators can make the fee process more transparent and accessible for students. She asked that ABOR solicit student feedback on any new proposed fees. 

She also spoke on how the budget might affect graduate students. 

“”We want to urge you to consider the value graduate and professional students and their programs bring to the university and the community as a whole,”” she said. 

1:48 p.m.

Taylor Lawrence, the president of Raytheon, was the first speaker from the audience. Lawrence stressed the importance of Raytheon’s collaboration with the UA, and the importance of maintaining a strong commitment to research institutions like it to attract and support companies such as Raytheon. Lawrence also said 1,838 UA are currently employed at Raytheon. He said both the UA and Arizona State University are targeted by Raytheon for recruitment. 

“”Arizona’s universities are critical contributors to the economy of our state,”” he said. 

1:40 p.m. 

The meeting is officially underway. Superintendent-elect John Huppenthal is present for his first meeting as a member of the board. He replaces former superintendent and attorney general-elect Tom Horne. 

All consent agenda items were approved without dissent. 

1:25 p.m. 

Just about to get underway here in the Grand Ballroom of the Student Union Memorial Center. The place is standing-room only at the moment and several students with signs protesting S.B. 1070 are present.