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Wednesday, July 10, 2013
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Budget, CMED East top trustees’ agenda Board to vote on budget that’s $1 million smaller than last year By Neil Rosan Staff Reporter
A proposed $440.7-million budget for the 2014 fiscal year and formal approval of the College of Medicine East campus in Saginaw will be discussed Thursday when the Central Michigan Board of Trustees holds its quarterly meeting. The proposed budget has been cut from the $441-million budget
unveiled from last year’s budget and will once again rely on the use of reserve accounts. “Colleges and service units will use some of their one-time carryforward funds from years to offset the shortage” created by a decline in fall enrollment, the university said in a news release. CMU anticipates a 5-7 percent drop in on-campus undergraduate enrollment, which is expected to
cause a $12 million general fund deficit and a $6 million auxiliary fund deficit, according to an email sent out to faculty and staff last month. Additionally, the board will vote on final approval of the College of Medicine Saginaw Phase I facility, a two-story, 52,100-square-foot structure which will be built on the campus of Covenant HealthCare. The project will cost $25.2 million, and funding will come from CMU reserve funds, CMU medical educational partners and fundraising. In May, the board met
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for a special, one-item meeting where the final $350,000 was approved for the planning of the project. The CMED East facility will serve as a place for CMED students to complete their residencies in their third and fourth years of medical school. The board will also consider a project in collaboration with the city of Mount Pleasant to connect East Campus Drive to Mission Street. The board will meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the President’s Conference Room on the second
HOW CAN YOU FIX CMU’S FALLING ENROLLMENT NUMBERS? “If you look carefully, it’s not every college that’s down. It’s not every major that’s down. So, you have to look at where the opportunities are to expand the growing majors and to look at the majors that are down. Does it mean that a major no longer needs to be here? It’s finding those right niches. “
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floor of the Bovee University Center. Additionally, two committee meetings, which will also take place in the President’s Conference Room, will take place Wednesday afternoon. Trustees will discuss the university’s enrollment management plan during the Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting at 3:45 p.m. and the proposed KellyShorts Stadium hotel project at the Finance and Facilities meeting at 2:30 p.m. university@cm-life.com
CMU looks to expand out-of-state recruitment By Neil Rosan Staff Reporter
Central Michigan University wants to build its in-state and national reputation to reverse a steep decline in enrollment over the past several years. The university is looking to out-of-state students, financial aid reform and bridge programs to counteract a projected 5-7 percent drop in on-campus undergraduate enrollment from fall 2012 to fall 2013, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services Steven Johnson said. A drop in Michigan high school graduates is partly to blame. “The lack of high school graduates is a big part of the falling numbers, Steven Johnson but it is driven by the major relocation out of the Midwest. If we don’t have families staying in the area, there won’t be as many kids staying in the area to take advantage of the state’s educational opportunities,” Johnson said . “What we have to do is not just see ourselves as an only Michigan-based institution, but understand that we have to expand our regional and national footprint so we can attract a good amount of out of state students.” In an email to CMU staff and faculty late last month, University President George Ross’ office announced undergraduate enrollment is expected to drop by 5-7 percent next semester from last year, resulting in an estimated $18 million in total debt for the 2014 fiscal year. In response, Johnson said CMU will spend its marketing into Texas, Florida and Georgia, among other states. “We are always going to primarily be a Michigan school, but what we want to do is have a greater representation of out of state students on campus and global campus,” Johnson said. “We want to be able to get the word out and let people know about the value of Central Michigan University and its quality
By Adrian Hedden Staff Reporter
As Michael Gealt prepares to take over as Central Michigan University’s provost in August, campus officials are looking to challenges that might lie beyond his hiring. Fostering working relationships between university administration and the school’s academic division, consisting of nine colleges including the College of Medicine to be opened this fall, is vital for Gealt as he takes over for retiring Provost Gary Shapiro on Aug. 1. While relationships between faculty and administration have shaky over the past several years, instructors hoped that Gealt’s extensive background in academics will lead the charge toward better communication throughout the inner workings of the university. “He’s not going to walk in here and everyone will trust him,” psychology professor Timothy Hartshorne said. “He needs to prove that he supports faculty concerns. He needs to continue the work of healing.” Referring to a one-day faculty work stoppage three years ago when contract negotiations between CMU administration and the Faculty Association broke down, Hartshorne said that the former Dean of Science at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock must maintain a “faculty perspective” when serving next year as leader of CMU’s academics. “Coming out of our last negotiation, there’s much more tension than before,” Hartshorne said. “If we see him going in a direction that we don’t want, he needs to persuade us that he still has our best interests at heart. He needs to remember where he came from in terms of being a biology professor. I have high hopes for him.” Hartshorne worked as co-chair, along with Dean of Communication and Fine Arts Salma Ghanem, of a 14-person search committee consisting of faculty and other academic officials that selected Gealt for the position last spring. With CMED opening in August, Hartshorne was wary that Gealt will have more on his plate than the typical provost. He said medical schools usually report to their own provost but at CMU, there is only one. “He’s going to have his hands full with CMED,” Hartshorne said. “Usually medical schools are separate, but here, it’s combined under one provost. That’s something most provosts don’t have to deal with.” Some faculty expressed concern that Gealt’s background might cause him to lean toward the areas he’s most familiar with, denying attention to such fields as the social sciences and fine arts. “My hope for the new Provost is that he will equally engage and support the faculty of not just the natural sciences and medical school where he is comfortable, but faculty in the rest of the university,” said political science instructor James Hill. “Faculty and administrative relations remain strained. A lot of bridge building is still needed.” A GEALT | 2 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON MILLARD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A ENROLLMENT | 2
CMU suspends three students in connection to fires at end of spring semester By John Irwin Editor-in-Chief
Five Central Michigan University students have been identified by the Office of Student Conduct in connection to the furniture and couch fires that rocked Mount Pleasant last May. Three of those students have been suspended, and the other two students could face disciplinary action in the future. Director of Student Conduct Tom Idema said he could not disclose the names of the students and other details related to the suspensions because they are protected by the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Idema said his office has worked closely with the Mount Pleasant Police Department and
other law enforcement authorities in investigating the fires and any student connections. “We’ve had a great working relationship with law enforcement authorities in the community,” Idema said. “We’re all a part of a community, and we all want to do our part to make sure it is safe.” Between April 28 and May 5, 32 furniture and dumpster fires burned in Mount Pleasant as the spring semester came to an end. An up-to $5,000 reward was offered by the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee for anyone with tips that could lead to the arrest of any suspects. It is unclear if these five students or others have been arrested in connection to the fires. Calls placed to MPPD Tuesday afternoon have not been returned.
Idema said it should be “common sense” not to light furniture or dumpsters on fire as a student. “We all want to see students complete their classes and graduate,” Idema said. “But these are things we don’t want to see in the future.” He said the university is still looking into other possible cases related to CMU students and his office will act should they be made aware of them. The fires took place throughout the city, including four dumpster fires at Lexington Ridge Apartments, 3700 E. Deerfield Road, and furniture fires on Main Street, Franklin Street and at the Jamestown and Deerfield Village apartment complexes. editor@cm-life.com
COURTESY PHOTO BY COLDWATER SENIOR JOSH BECKHUSEN
A large fire engulfs two couches and a mattress at the intersection of Franklin and Gaylord streets on May 3.