Periodic Updates - Update #34
CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
September 2, 2003
To: CMU Colleagues and Students
From: Mike Rao
Ref: CMU Update #34
Welcome back. I hope that your semester is off to a good
start.
FALL SEMESTER FORUMS
Students, faculty, staff, and community members are welcome
to share their ideas, opinions, suggestions, and concerns at
any of the open forums scheduled during the fall semester.
Student forums are scheduled September 30 at 4 p.m. and
November 13 at 7 p.m. A forum scheduled specifically for the
campus and local community will be held on October 9 at 4
p.m. All forums will take place in the Lake Huron Room of
the Bovee University Center. Forum information is also
listed on our web site at
http://www.cmich.edu/president/forum.html.
STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS
The annual State of the University Address is scheduled on
September 4 at 4 p.m. in Plachta Auditorium. The address
will be shorter and more conversational than in the past.
After I speak briefly about some of CMU's accomplishments of
the past year and focus on initiatives during the coming
year, I will respond to questions that were submitted in
advance and also to questions asked at the presentation. I
hope that this change will help encourage greater
participation in this annual event. Please feel free to
submit questions in advance to Jane Fox at
mailto:fox1jm@cmich.edu
or ask questions in person following the presentation. Much
of the address will be based on the paper I developed for
the board this summer entitled "Strategic Vision Update for
2003-04," which is posted at
http://www.cmich.edu/president/vision-goals/strategic-vision2003-2004.html.
A small reception in the second floor foyer of Warriner Hall
will follow the address.
BUDGET UPDATE
Update 33
summarized the impact of budget reductions for the 2003-2004
fiscal year. While we were pleased that our advocacy for
dollars following students resulted in our state
appropriation cut not being as high as originally expected
(although it still amounted to $8.5 million), a rank order
of appropriations and tuition makes clear that CMU still has
much to accomplish to achieve funding that is equitable and
more comparable to peer institutions in the state. This
year, CMU ranks 13th of the 15 Michigan public universities
in this indicator of overall revenue received.
Communication is perhaps the most important element to
ensuring clarity with regard to the university's budget and
budget process. In the face of declining revenues and
reduced expenditures, helping to ensure that the state of
the university budget is clear will be of great importance.
To aid in communication, the Budget Review Advisory
Committee (BRAC) has recommended a series of budget forums
be held this fall, which is in keeping with the original
reasons that I created BRAC. More information will be
forthcoming about these forums from Vice President Ross.
COMMUNITY BRUNCH
All CMU community members and friends, and their families,
are invited to a community brunch on Saturday, September 13
at 11:00 a.m. at the Rose Ponds near Rose Arena. This
complimentary community brunch is being held to celebrate
the university's history-making fundraising campaign that
will officially kick off later in the day. The campaign, A
New Vision of Excellence, is geared toward significantly
expanding scholarships for CMU students.
CHRISTA McAULIFFE AWARD
Congratulations to the Michigan Schools in the Middle
Program, which has been awarded the 2003 Christa McAuliffe
Award for Excellence in Teacher Education through the
American Association of State Colleges and Universities and
recognized as an outstanding professional development
program. I am proud of MSIM and all those responsible for
its success, especially Patricia Benson, the program
director. Please see
http://www.cmich.edu/newstips/ntips.asp?ID=509 for more
information about this exciting award.
MAC ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
For the sixth time in the last seven years (including the
last two), CMU Athletics has received the MAC Academic
Achievement Award. This is a wonderful accomplishment for
the university and the result of hard work and dedication by
our staff, coaches, and student-athletes. Congratulations!
HONORARY DEGREE NOMINATIONS
I welcome nominations for people to receive consideration
for an honorary degree. Subsequent to the nomination, the
Board of Trustees, the faculty, and the president all have
roles in the process by which a nominee may be advanced to
the status of recommended candidate and, finally, to
approved recipient of an honorary degree. For more
information and guidelines about the nomination process,
please see
http://www.cmich.edu/trustees/policies/honorary deg.pdf.
A letter addressed to the Trustees-Faculty Liaison Committee
stating why the person is worthy of an honorary degree and a
vitae/biography should be forwarded to Marykaye Murphy in
the president's office.
UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL
(UCAP)
Created in 2000, UCAP serves as a university community
advisory body, designed to improve communication and
coordination among all employee groups and the student
leadership at CMU. Regular meetings provide a mechanism for
ensuring that issues, interests, and concerns are aired and
discussed. Please refer to
http://www.cmich.edu/ucap for a list of current members
as well as meeting minutes and agendas.
