Council of Trustees to Meet Today

By John Reed
SC Staff Writer

Today, the first Council of Trustees meeting of the semester will take place at the Innovation Center at 4:00 PM.

ESU’s Council of Trustees consists of 11 members — which includes one undergraduate student — that are appointed by Pennsylvania’s governor.

The Council also requires at least two members to be alumni of the institution. Currently, there are three alumni serving on the Council of Trustees.

Their primary function is to make recommendations to the chancellor. These recommendations include: appointing and dismissing the president, approving the university budget, opening new academic programs, and reporting on contracts and fees — this does not include tuition.

In the past year, the Council of Trustees added to their ranks when Ms. Josephine Ferro was welcomed as a new member during the meeting on February 27.

Also during the February meeting, The Student Fee Pilot Program — approved by the Board of Governors — was up for discussion and required approval by ESU’s Council of Trustees.

The Pilot Program would be utilized to increase fees in the clinical portion of training in the nursing program.

Despite the increase, President Welsh pointed out that nursing tuitions at private university are comparatively higher; the tuition cost for ESU’s nursing program is roughly 30 percent of regional private institutions.

The Pilot Program was created to save the nursing program. Trustee Scavello motioned to approve and was seconded by Trustee Klaus. With that, the motion was carried.

A discussion involving local fees for 2014-2015 followed. There was a $44 increase on the table — from $1,007 to $1,051 — for the upcoming year. Again, Trustee Scavello motioned for approval and was seconded by Trustee Perretta, allowing the motion to carry.

Vice President of Administration & Finance Kenneth Long provided an update of the 2014-2015 budget. A preliminary draft of the budget was made available at the following Council of Trustee’s meeting, which took place on April 24.

Trustee Ross stated that the budget couldn’t be finalized until the State Appropriations were set by the state.

Today’s Council of Trustee’s meeting will have the 2014-2015 budget as an action item on its agenda. Action items require a motion of approval to occur during the meeting.

With the approval of minutes from the previous two meetings first on the docket, ESU students will have access to the budgetary discussions and its evolution after the budget vote.

The Council will also be voting on reducing the admission application fee. The fee stands at $45 for both incoming transfer students and freshmen.

The final action item on the Council of Trustee’s agenda will involve a search for the next student trustee. Currently, Ms. Rebecca Keck is chairing this position, but she is slated to graduate in 2015.

Email John at:
jreed18@live.esu.edu