I.s.u. State of the University DR. Thomas Wallace 9/9/93

We call upon Dr. Bill Growitz, the Vice President for Student Affairs, to present the annual Neal Gamsky. In order to encourage professional staff to make significant personal contributions to the students at Illinois State University, Dr. Gamsky established the endowment in 1986. The Gamsky Award and physical chemistry from Clarkson University in 1967, he spent the first 10 years of his academic life at the Rochester Institute of Technology serving as a professor of chemistry, Chairperson of the Chemistry Department, and Dean of the College of Science. In 1978, he was appointed Dean of the School of Sciences and Health Professions at Old Dominion University. Subsequently, he became Vice President for Academic Affairs at Old Dominion. In 1986, Dr. Wallace was named Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at Indiana University Purdue University in Fort Wayne. He was named the 14th President of Illinois State University in August

of 1988. There is certainly little question that higher education in Illinois has fallen upon hard times. Reduced state funding, the possibility of a PQP number two, the list goes on and on. Perhaps it is now time to adopt the PBS model of fundraising. That is small gifts for those who contribute to Illinois State University. What could be a more appropriate gift, ladies and gentlemen, than a book authored by an ISU faculty member? This book could be yours for $25 a month. Few people know that Dr. Harvey Zitinstein is as much at home in the kitchen as he is on the floor of the Academic Senate. This new book features his recipes for action item asparagus, move the previous question in chili and scents of the Senate soup.

This could be yours for $50 a month. Dr. Jan Shane and Paul Walker co -authored this practical chatty and charming, do it yourself guide to research on the prairie. This could be yours for $75 a month. A series of essays written by arts and sciences faculty who received huge equity adjustments. This inspiring book gives all the rest of us something to strive for. Incidentally, the forward to the book was written by Dean Virginia Owen. This could be yours for $100 a month. In fact, Tom Wallace has been known to give it away free to close for $10 a

month. This could be yours for $1 a month. In fact, Tom Wallace has been known to give it away free to close for $10 a month. Ladies and gentlemen, my friend and the 14th president of Illinois State University, Dr. Thomas Wallace, to present the annual State of the University Address. Dr. Wallace. I'd like to welcome everyone to this fall State of the University Address, with a particular warm welcome to those of you who are joining the university for the first time.

Those of you who are here for the first time, I probably should explain Lynn Smoltz for a while. However, I think I won't do that. I would, though, like to congratulate Lynn on his ninth consecutive term as Chair of the Academic Senate. I've often noted that faculties tend to be extremely patient, giving their own time and opportunity to succeed. And I want to express my admiration for the faculty for forcing Lynn to stick to it until he gets it right. Actually, Lynn has been a very positive person and been very supportive of my work here, and I am very grateful for that. Lynn is actually a disciple of Will

Rogers' philosophy that things will get better despite our efforts to improve them. This is my sixth appearance before you to deliver the State of the University Address. As I begin this year, I continue to enjoy my work with you, and I have a sense that thanks to the work of many good people and all corners of the campus, the university is making progress that would should be our fundamental motivation, stretching for excellence. In particular, it should be noted that I have been very fortunate this year to have a staff and a group of vice presidents who have worked very well as a team, and have been very good and very productive. I know that because they have been complaining more. I have asked a number of times this

year, particularly this summer, what has been the most gratifying accomplishment so far during my time as president. I noted first of all that the average tenure for a public university president is five years, so that my first of all I am very grateful I have survived. But I also, more seriously, have avoided the question of trying to single out any particular type of activity or accomplishment that the university has accomplished over these last few years. Because I feel best about what I think is the attitude in many quarters of the campus for stretching to achieve a higher level of excellence and to be aggressive in seeking out opportunities. We have been trying to identify academic niches, to make things happen rather than simply having them happen to us. And I sense that the university is being creative

and determined in forging its own destiny, a future based on existing strengths, sought after opportunities, and the continued development of a student -centered institution, and the elements of the undergraduate experience in its broadest sense. Tom Peters recently said, perhaps the management issue for the 90s, largely avoided by gurus and practitioners alike, is unleashing imagination. Our colleges are continuing to make progress in identifying elements of the academic programming which are at or capable of achieving national recognition. The university is continually dealing with a scarcity of state funds, and thus the pressure to seek alternative financial resources, to implement new technologies in the academic and administrative areas, and to re -engineer segments

of our enterprise continues. Peter Salas chairman of Phillips Petroleum said, we can't wait for the storm to blow over, we've got to learn to work in the rain. Fewer people are now required to work in new and more skillful ways. We have seen that on our campus, sometimes people being asked to perform different tasks in an environment where costs, containment, greater productivity, external accountability, continue to bring new demands and stresses to our lives. However, in what sector of society today are such realities and challenges absent? Fortunately, rather than this national and state environment creating a spell of despair over the campus, the overall university attitude and behavior has become to create positive change with new directions that fit our particular

institution. This is not always easy and change is not usually quickly accepted. John Kenneth Galbreath said, quote, faced with a choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. Let us face it, no organization is so screwed up that somebody doesn't like it the way it is. Why do I single out as being so important what I would describe as the development of an institutional cultural evolution within this university? I do so because education cannot continue to view itself as being immune to the fundamental changes that have been underway in our society for quite some time. Within a period of only 180 days, the chief executive officers

of IBM, GM, Westinghouse, American Express and Kodak were dismissed because those companies were not appropriately successful. Whatever that means. Kodak had tripled its revenues in the last decade with fewer employees, but it wasn't good enough. Ameritech and General Electric, two companies doing well financially, just laid off 4 ,000 middle management employees. Nationally, why do we see universities under attack by the media, legislatures, governing boards and state coordinating boards like the IBHE, using the same rationale that the outside directors used in demanding change at Eastman Kodak? The answer is that organizations, including education, aren't successfully functioning in new ways required by the social, economic and political transitions. I'm encouraged because

IC Illinois State has passed through the denial change for the need to change and is beginning to develop a more creative and responsive organization that is undergoing cultural transition necessary to deal with the external forces that inescapably are and will continue affecting our future work. Only our achievements can demonstrate the existence of this realization and this has been a year for major achievements which like any success are based on the realities of many good working years by many people. The business and finance division has completed a number of major management projects that involve streamlining business and financial processes and implementing automation. These include the monitoring of projects performed by outside contractors and by university staff in a more thorough and appropriate manner and

accommodating budget transactions and other financial matters by utilizing computing techniques. These are examples of an automated work order system, an automated purchasing system, a central accounts receivable system, an online financial transaction system, a facilities planning and acquisition system and an automated mail system. This summer I made a number of onsite visits to campus service support areas including those within business and finance. I saw first hand the improvements in administrative processes in the use of technology to achieve cost efficiencies and improve service and higher levels of productivity. The level of improvement relative to four years ago when Jim Alexander undertook his leadership role at Illinois State is outstanding and the success should be a source of great pride to the civil service and administrative staff of business and finance. A second major area that is made impressive

strides to reach some very high levels of achievement is institutional advancement, the areas of alumni, university relation and fundraising. There has been significant improvement in the quality of our publications with regard to both the message and the medium. While inherently probably less evident to you, the scope and frequency of the university's interaction with statewide media has substantially increased in quality and quantity, resulting in greater coverage of the university's activities. Fundraising from individual and corporations reached a new record of 5 .3 million last year, up 2 .2 million from the previous year. As a result, the university foundation has dramatically increased the level of student scholarship aid from 1988, which was at a level of 218 ,000 to a 1993.

I think this is a great achievement, our number one goal in fundraising is student scholarships. The endellment since 1988 is increased from 2 .6 million to the current 9 .4 million level. The scholarship aid wherever possible is being based on endellment funds and the earnings from endellment. The new telephone program received a million dollars in pledges last year compared to 555 ,000 dollars the previous year. Academic affairs has also been successful in dramatically increasing external funding. The college's assisted by the graduate school staff had a remarkable year in grant and contract activity reaching a new record of 9 .2 million, a 1 .9 million dollar increase from the previous year. For fiscal year 1993, the university's total grant contract and gift

revenues reached 14 .5 million dollars, an increase of 4 .1 million or 39 % over the previous fiscal year total, a tremendous faculty and staff effort. Let me remind you that the last three fiscal years before this year, our net increase in tax support was a negative $500 ,000. The students once again conducted an outstanding campaign for a very successful senior class challenge with a total of $54 ,000 in pledges. This campaign, combined with a faculty and staff successes in external funding, should be a source of great pride. The university has stretched and reached new heights. I thank you all for the extra effort that had to go into these accomplishments. The university has just begun to realize its potential in institutional stature and resource development. And we

must continue to assume and more formally recognize as an expectation the promotion of a private university attitude towards acquiring resources and marketing in a professional way our strengths, excellence and mission. Very clearly, our mission is and will continue to be impacted by the level and the nature of resources available. Our opportunities are and will be guided not only by where academic needs appear, but also by where external resources other than state sources are available. The evolving state farm partnership is a good example of opportunities realized. Matching an industry's need with an institutional strength and a willingness to address new opportunities. From 1989 to December 1992, approximately 235 Illinois

State graduates were hired for entry level positions in data processing at state farm. This represents about a third of such entry level people at state farm for this period. From 1989 to 1992, 460 state farm employees have enrolled in courses in the Department of Applied Science, Applied Computer Science, through the company's tuition aid program, as estimated that 20 % of our graduate students in ACS are state farm employees. Through the good work of that department working with staff people, state farm recently made a 3 year 1 .5 million donation to provide the latest hardware and software for state of the art computing laboratory facility. The university then leverages a single gift with other corporate sponsors for the equivalent of an additional 1 .3 million dollars in software. State Farm understands that an investment at Illinois State University is an investment in the quality of their

future workforce, not simply a charitable gift. The new insurance program in the College of Business is a unique program in the state and is already poised for national recognition. Over 1 .3 million in support has been pledged by state farm, country companies, all state, camperers, Zurich, American, and pecan insurance companies to name just a few. Interestingly, the idea and the urging for the university to pursue this program came from an alum who we got re -acquainted with, and Chicago -based insurance companies. It's important, however, to state that not all academic programs have such external revenue potential as these examples of computer science and insurance. And it must be kept in mind that when some programs within the university capture available opportunities, everyone benefits

in the long run. Also, it should be understood that the university will not embark on a new endeavor simply because there exists some new external source of funding. However, we must continue to appreciate the reality that we must create our own opportunities in following our own particular pathways. With the assistance of a 3 .7 percent increase in our state appropriation of approximately $100 million, this year's budget is one of our better budgets in recent times. However, the resources that helped make this a good overall budget also included reallocations of more than $2 .5 million, and the very difficult reduction of 66 positions, none of which were faculty positions. This year's state appropriation increase includes keeping the tuition rate at the same level

for the second year in a row, but completes a two -year phase end of charging students for credit hours taking above 12 hours. However, this increased cost and tuition for students taking over 12 hours was accompanied by a new policy that reserves 30 percent of the tuition increase for student gift aid based on financial need. The result is that generally students from families with incomes of $50 ,000 or less did not have a net increase in their tuition bills. While this has been the second year of this linkage of tuition increases to increases in student gift aid, this major shift in policy has gone relatively unnoticed by students, the General Assembly, and the media. Because it's been a last -minute addition in the budget process in the two previous years planning. Among the university's high priority

expenditures this year was a significant salary increase for faculty and staff, an additional funding for academic computing, library materials, instructional technology, and costs for the state's early retirement option. This option, which benefited 35 people at the university, cost the university $1 .6 million. While this year's budget proves for a very healthy fiscal environment, make no mistake that the state's fiscal problems will continue until fundamental change occurs with the state tax structure. We continue our program of bringing this issue and that of inadequate funding for public higher education, the attention of the business community, the general public, and members of the General Assembly. I would note that for 1991 -92 Illinois's national public higher education rankings were 35th lowest in state tax support per full -time equivalent student,

47th lowest in net tuition per FTE student, and tied for 50th out of 51 in net tuition plus tax support per FTE student. In 1970, tax support constituted 92 % of the state appropriation and permitted low affordable tuition. Currently 64 % of the appropriation is derived from state tax support. To return to the 1970s when the appropriation was 92 % tax support, which provided universities with adequate operational budgets and permitted low tuition, would require $270 million in this year's state budget. My national standards Illinois Public Higher Education receives low tax support and has a low tuition. Everybody loves low taxes and low

tuition, thus it is difficult to gain people's attention to address the problems created by continuing to maintain this unrealistic but very popular low tax low tuition philosophy. While most other states have either a relatively high ranking in either tax support or tuition revenues, many in Illinois continue to take the safe way out and embrace both low tuition and low taxes. Illinois has lacked a coherent state policy or philosophy for funding public higher education and the result is self -evident. One ramification of the 20 -year decline in Illinois's national ranking in public higher education is the facility's infrastructure problems accumulating on university campuses. We estimate that the Illinois State University physical plant valued at $700 million has a backlog of over $100 million in heating,

cooling, plumbing, ventilation, structural and electrical repairs and replacements. This month, the university is required to submit to the Illinois Board of Higher Education. It's report on PQP following on when Smolts is comment. We look forward to today when PQP stands for Please Quit Planning. Most of you are quite familiar with this program. The Board of Regents at its July meeting approved the university's recommendation for the elimination of five degree programs and supported the university's position that other programs recommended by the IBHE for elimination should not be eliminated. The university's report will include a listing of $4 .1 million of reallocation for fiscal year 1993 and 1994.

Thus, while we are not in agreement with the Board of Higher Education staff on the number of academic programs to be eliminated, the university has met the general recommendation of the IBHE that over the next three years, public universities make available six to eight percent of their appropriation to reinvest in high priorities. This represents 4 percent. We continue to disagree with the IBHE regarding the one prescription for all public universities that details how the six to eight percent should be reallocated. The university's view is that each institution possesses a unique situation and therefore should be expected to respond to a general recommendation in a way that fits the particular institution. For example, while we can accept the call for reinvestment of

eight to ten percent from administration and other support functions, we do not feel that the additional recommendation of reinvestment of six to nine percent from research and public service should apply to the Illinois State University research function. The basis for this statement is how the expenditures at Illinois State University are being made, as well as the productivity which has been achieved. It is amazing that an exercise called priority quality and productivity has not dealt with quality and has not recognized productivity other than to examine how monies are expended with no interest in what is produced for the dollar spent, for example. In fiscal year 1992, Illinois State ranked first among the state's 12 public universities in the

percent of bachelor's degrees conferred, which was 85 percent of all degrees conferred at the university. At the same time, Illinois State awarded 658 master's degrees and 47 doctoral degrees, clearly while offering quality graduate programs. Illinois State has demonstrated a strong commitment to undergraduate education and has also shown effective allocation of resources to graduate and undergraduate instruction. While the RBHE has recommended uniform percentage shifts from research and graduate studies to instruction for all public university, this recommendation ignores the fact that each institution has a unique mission and a different resource base for research and graduate studies. In 1991, for example, Illinois State utilized 87 percent of its expenditure for instruction, which was the fourth

highest in the state, 5 .1 percent of its expenditure for organized research, which was below the state average of 9 .4 percent, and the lowest among the doctoral granting institutions. And 7 .5 percent of its expenditure from public service compared to the state average of 10 percent. Given the university's mission and current productivity, the distribution of effort and expenditures among instruction, research and public service is reasonable relative to state averages and other Illinois public universities. Finally, the PQP process in Illinois continues to generate report after report on average expenditures by the universities in different categories with no recognition that such data should be compared to other states and to other national data. Nowhere in the

tons of paper representing the PQP reports over the last two years. Is there any recognition that during the last 20 years, Illinois has declined substantially in national ranking for funding public higher education. Thus the reality of the PQP process continues to be a budget exercise required to reduce the scope of programming at Illinois's public universities to counterbalance the decline in state funding as Illinois continues to plummet to the lowest funding levels in the nation. While the universities can expect at least some general comments this fall on the PQP reports from the IBHE staff, I am reminded of the Persian proverb, trust in God, but tie your camel tight. During the last couple of years, the university has seen substantial improvement in the areas of computing and telecommunications and is poised to move to a second phase of implementing

more sophisticated information and transactional systems, particularly for decision support, budget planning and financial management. New installations have included a telephone system, a mainframe computer upgrade, a fiber optic backbone connected to every building and every room on campus. The completion of ISU net has provided many new possibilities for faculty, students and staff. Students and faculty can connect to off -campus supercomputers from their laboratories and offices, as well as search for library materials and our library or libraries throughout the country. We also can communicate to each other within the campus. Our challenge on getting these completed is to meet the rapid growing need for training and technical support services for faculty and students. Hopefully, the progress in achieving a more sophisticated, efficient and cost -efficient system of managing the university in this area and others will continue.

However, it has become obvious that it is necessary to bring the university's environment to a concept of a chief information office to utilize as business and industry does. To accommodate this objective, the responsibilities and activities that historically have existed in the office of institutional research have been expanded. While offices of institutional research have historically been responsible for collecting, storing and retrieving important university data and information, such offices have not been given the responsibility for campus -wide information systems. In a unique restructuring, the university has established a position of executive director of information systems which replaces the positions of director of institutional research and executive director of computing and information systems. This consolidation eliminates one high -level central administrative position

and results in the director of information systems being responsible for administrative computing, telecommunications and institutional research. After a year of discussions, the position of associate vice president for instructional technology was designated due to increased attention nationally as well as the Illinois State University in the corporation of modern technology, particularly computer technology, into the instruction and other academic programs. The new job description includes and expands upon functions related to the university's present academic computing efforts. With the addition of the new associate vice president, the current position of director of academic computing will be eliminated, a national search is being conducted to fill this new position.

In student affairs, we have seen as a result of last year's review, we organization which has led to the merger and consolidation of units and the reduction in personnel by not filling several vacant positions, including one associate vice president position. A new program of faculty mentors working with students as part of the office of residential life activities has been very successful with good faculty participation. I offer my thanks to those faculty who have volunteered for this program. Also a new minority scholar and residence program has been started sponsored by the colleges and student affairs and has proved to be very well received by the students. This year's enrollment targets of 17 ,400 undergraduate students and an overall university enrollment of 20 ,000 were realized within 1%.

Minority enrollment again increased this fall and since 1988 minority student enrollment has increased 63 % from 1506 students to 2457 students. The fall of 1988 minority student enrollment constituted 7 % of the enrollment, while this fall minority students make up 12 .3 % of the total enrollment. This is amazing progress and due to the good work in a cooperative way between academic affairs and student affairs. I would also point out that since Illinois State graduates one of the highest percentages of minority students among the 12 public universities in Illinois, it is apparent that we are responding favorably to the institutional and state goals of enrolling and graduating more students of color. While the objective of enrollment reduction over a five year period to increase our expenditure per student has been successful, the increasingly difficult state financial

situation has prevented us from reaching a number of established goals for the enrollment reduction program. This year we will attempt refinements in the planning and allocation of resources to the colleges based on enrollment management results. This will involve establishing a minimum academic year undergraduate student credit dollar production for each college, establishing a maximum number of academic year faculty positions and personal services dollars by college. And attempting to control undergraduate enrollments by program or college as we move from one fiscal year to the next. While this has been going well, we feel that there are some refinements that can be made. The colleges will be expected to design plans and to make decisions relative to resource options that would consider average departmental

class size and size distribution. Frequency of class offerings as well as a balance among undergraduate courses offered in the major, the minor, university studies, service courses and elective courses. Each college would establish the parameters for how often specific courses should be offered. Hopefully, the university will move to a multi year scheduling of classes, so as to provide students with a better comprehension of long term university course offerings, which may permit improved student course, advisement and selection. I wish to stress that while meeting school goals for or college goals for instructional hours is important, scholarship should not be neglected. And the primary objective is to balance faculty workload assignments with regard to instruction, research and public service. In addition, attention will be

given to the use of release time for faculty and the hope of in the type of productivity which results from such release time. In this way, we hope to give greater flexibility to the colleges to plan their overall programming over a multi year time frame with a better understanding of the resources that will be available to implement such plans. I would also note the University Study Review Committee has taken on the difficult assignment of advising general education or university studies. I wish to express my admiration and support for their continued work. This is one of the most important agenda items for the university this academic year. The proposed program includes an inner core of required literacy courses, an outer core of courses in which they will be some choice and a capstone seminar. The program stresses basic literacy and language, writing, communication, math and science. The outer core

of courses builds on this foundation. The program structure is designed to integrate in several different ways, the component of general education and the subject knowledge from the discipline in which the student will major. The proposed plan is a product of long and arduous work by some of our most dedicated faculty and should be given the closest attention as the planning moves into the final phase. This is my fifth time over many years through general education revision. This is by far the best product that I have ever seen. As a result of campus review last year, the College of Continuing Education and Public Service was disestablished in response to our serious financial conditions within the state and in response to the Illinois Board of Higher Education's PQP exercise. The functions from the colleges are being maintained in a decentralized fashion and this alternative

organizational structure has resulted in over a million dollars in savings and was in a large measure one of the primary ways we were able to avoid eliminating faculty positions last year. Examples of the decentralized approach including the assumptions of responsibilities, adult learning, academic advising, off campus credit, handled by the College of Education for all colleges, business and corporate services by the College of Applied Science and Technology and Professional Development Division, which they will be a conferencing group under the Provost's Office. I would mention that the conferencing group at the Provost's Office will also be helping with non -credit courses. Stacey Marshall Curd who formerly headed the Bloomington Normal Convention and Visitors Bureau is a new program coordinator for this conferencing unit. An aggressive approach will be utilized to bring

conferences to the campus and to address non -credit programs through the leadership of the deans and the department chairs. I thought it might be appropriate to conclude the State of the University address with a few success stories of our graduates and the institution that demonstrate that not only have we stretched for excellence, but that we have also achieved excellence. This is no attempt to have an exhaustive list and I always shudder to do a list because I know of what I have left out and I will get notes tomorrow so I apologize for those of equal our accomplishment who are left out. I said I would quit at 4 and you will note it so 4. First of all, the CPA test results last year the passage rate for our graduates on their first setting in the CPA exam was twice the national average. The Provost Office has made a very great attempt over the last few

years to help our students get into professional school, whether it's Dennis, medicine, the dietary, whatever. And since 1987, the lowest percent of students getting in who have applied has been 87 percent and we had one year where it was 100 percent and that's between 20 and 30 students a year who are enrolled in those programs. We just finished the IBHE mandated alumni survey of the class of 1988. They got an overwhelming response on that survey. We got over 50 percent return and 94 percent of the 1988 alumni survey rated their experience at Illinois State University as either highly positive or positive. As opposed to the other choices of neutral, negative or highly negative. About two months ago I was with the president from another state who had surveyed his alumni and reported that 50

percent of his graduates wish they had gone to another institution. 94 percent satisfaction is pretty good and it says I think that we are indeed putting into the undergraduate experience the kind of effort that we say we are. The chemistry department ranked fifth nationally last year in the number of American chemical society certified degrees. That presents not just a large number but it also talks about a national standard that has been reached. The forensics program year after year we get national attention this past year we had one student that received two national titles. So we have much to be proud of and we are stretching for excellence and reaching that. Finally I'd like to thank you for your attendance and attention today. I wish each of you a very successful and happy year professionally and personally work hard but also take some time to smell the roses. Thank you. Thank you.

A reception will immediately follow the state of the university address but the president has a video I presume that you would like to talk about. Can we get a picture of this? No, please come on. You're embarrassing. I'm going to send this to the chancellor. Please don't send it to my mother. This is going to be a little bit awkward

but I think you might find it worthwhile. We're going to move over to the reception area. We have just completed a video that's about 12 minutes that we can watch as we're eating and drinking. I think it's outstanding. It tries to capture what I would say the culture of this university by going back and getting some of the historic aspects of it. I think it's outstanding and if you want to stay and watch it we can watch it but I think we can socialize and watch it at the same time. So we can move over to the refreshments and they will start that video in a few minutes. Thank you again.