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New 4-year contract, pay raise for Ross ‘What he’s done over the last few years is admirable’ By John Irwin Managing Editor
CHUCK MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
University President George Ross sits speaking during Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting held in the President’s Conference Room in the Bovee UC. Ross received a new contract and pay raise.
University President George Ross received a new four-year contract and a pay raise at Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting after three years of a presidency marked by a tumultuous relationship with faculty.
Ross’ new contract, effective March 1, takes him through July 31, 2017 and gives him an annual salary of $364,000 per year, up four percent from his current $350,000 salary. Despite the pay raise, Ross is still the third-lowest paid university president in the MidAmerican Conference, ahead of only Northern Illinois University President John Peters and Eastern Michigan University President Susan Martin. Board of Trustees Chairman Brian Fannon said it is vital for Central Michigan University to
have leadership continuity over the next several years as large projects such as the campus master plan and the proposed biosciences building come to fruition. “All these major planning efforts are culminating, frankly, over the next couple years that will set the trajectory for CMU for the next five to 10 years,” Fannon said. “... We need somebody to take that and keep everybody on task because; if you don’t, it’s just words.” A ROSS| 2
$95M BIOSCIENCES BUILDING — WILL IT HAPPEN? Davison: Departments ‘need more quality space’ By Neil Rosan Staff Reporter
The Board of Trustees Thursday heard pleas to approve construction of a biosciences building on campus because of inadequate workspace in Brooks Hall. The lack of space in Brooks has been well documented and was rehashed by Dean of the College of Science and Technology Ian Davison, Biology Department Chairman Steve Roberts, Professor of Biology Jennifer Schisa, Assistant Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science Deric Learman and Saline senior Angie Hollis. Davison, along with the many other members from the biology department, shared their frustrations with the building and how the department has outgrown the space. “We have reached the point where we need more space and more quality space. Whenever this new building is built, it will be filled right away,” Davison said. Talks of improving Brooks have been happening since 2002, and CMU representatives presented the building to the state as a top project in 2008. A BIOSCIENCES| 2
CHUCK MILLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dean of the College of Science and Technology Dr. Ian Davison talks with the Board of Trustees about the need of the new Biosciences Building during Thursday’s meeting in the Presidents Conference Room of the Bovee University Center.
RANKING OF CHARTER SCHOOLS AUTHORITIES 1. Grand Valley State University 2. Lake Superior State University 3. Central Michigan University 4. Oakland University 5. Wayne Regional Education Service Agency *Information obtained from Mich. Department of Education
CMU charter schools ranked third for performance By Samantha Smallish Staff Reporter
Central Michigan University was recently ranked the third-highest authorizer of public schools based on performance in the state. CMU is the authorizer for 59 charter schools and earned the third-place ranking as a result of above average school performance levels, only after Grand Valley State University and Lake Superior State University, according to the Education Policy Center at Michigan
State University and the Michigan Department of Education. Performance levels are determined by factors such as student academic standing, student enrollment and various goals outlined in the charter contract. “One of the key strategies impacting our performance is that, in addition to taking the MEAP tests, CMU has been a pioneer in the use of state-of-the-art computer adaptive testing in the fall and spring to measure both proficiency and individual student growth,” said Cindy
Schumacher, Executive Director of The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at CMU. A charter school, also known as a public school academy, is a state-supported public school, which operates under a charter contract. This contract, issued by the authorizer, includes specific performance expectations, as well as compliance with all applicable state and federal laws that govern public education. A CHARTER| 2
CMU sets grad housing rates, adds Global Campus space in downtown Detroit Seven-year lease to cost university more than $893,000 By Neil Rosan Staff Reporter
Graduate students coming to Central Michigan University can expect to pay between $655 and $1,400 for on-campus housing. The Board of Trustees approved the rental rates Thursday for the graduate student housing complexes, and costs will run between $665 and $700 for a one-bedroom unit, $765 and $960 for a two-bedroom unit and $1,000 and $1,400 for a four-bedroom unit per month. Vice President of Facilities Management Steve Lawrence said the prices of comparable apartment
complexes nearby, such as Canterbury, Westpoint Village and Stone Crest, which charge between $760 and $900, $755 and $900 and $790 and $850 per month, respectively, for a two-bedroom apartment, were taken into consideration when setting the rates. Lawrence also said, during a presentation, the new housing should be completed by April 1 and will be primarily filled by graduate students, not College of Medicine students. The housing will feature 42 onebedroom units, 43 two-bedroom units and nine four-bedroom units.
GLOBAL CAMPUS
The board also expanded CMU’s Global Campus by approving a seven-year lease of a 4,000-squarefoot space in downtown Detroit. The space, which is located on the ground floor of the Ernst and Young building on Woodward
Avenue near Campus Martius, will serve as a recruiting tool as well as a place to hold Global Campus classes. Total costs for the space are expected to be $893,090, paid over seven years. University President George Ross said the space is a muchneeded foothold for the Global Campus, which has been accused of making a ‘doughnut’ around Detroit. “I think it’s important to be in downtown Detroit,” Ross said. “We have been located in Detroit in past years, but this is a return to the city. Detroit will be back, and it’s still an important part of the state, despite the challenges it has faced. Our competitors are downtown, so we need to be in Detroit.” CMU will be joining the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and eight other universities with centers in Detroit. A HOUSING| 2
PHOTO COURTESY OF CMU UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
The Board of Trustees approved the rental rates Thursday for the graduate student housing complexes, and costs will run between $665 and $700 for a one-bedroom unit, $765 and $960 for a twobedroom unit and $1,000 and $1,400 for a four-bedroom unit per month.