LIFE CENTRAL MICHIGAN
CMU wins 11 in a row over MSU, 7
Central Michigan University
| Friday, Feb. 17, 2012
Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney visits Grand Rapids, 3
[cm-life.com]
Employee groups to receive lump sums
Council of Chairs endorses vote of no confidence
By David Oltean Senior Reporter
Central Michigan University employees that received a zero-percent wage adjustment for the 2010-11 academic year will soon be receiving a lump sum payment amounting to 2.25 percent of their base salary. The payments, which will be given to professional and administrative employees, office professionals, public broadcasting employees, supervisorytechnical workers, nonunion fixedterm faculty members and senior officer groups, will amount to $1.3 million and will be distributed from university funds. More than 1,100 employees will receive compensation in the form of a lump sum. One employee group, the Supervisory-Technical Association, will receive only 1.75 percent of annual salaries in the lump sum after receiving a 1/2 percent increase in base wages in the last academic year. At Thursday’s Board of Trustees meeting, University President George Ross commended the employee groups for accepting the zero-percent increase in wages for the past academic year. “I again would like to (thank these) groups for accepting a zero-percent adjustment in 2010-11,” Ross said. “In recognition of your commitment and service to our students and university, I have authorized a one-time lump sum payment in the amount of 2.25 percent of the annual base wage to those employees who received zero for a year and are now in their second year.” Ross also acknowledged he would not be one of the employees receiving a lump sum. Ed Grant, CMU Public Broadcasting general manager, will be one of CMU’s employees to receive a lump sum at the end of this month, along with many of his employees in the public broadcasting building. Grant said the lump sums will most likely be appreciated after many employees’ salaries were frozen during the last academic year. “I think it’s probably unexpected on the part of most employees, but they also recognize the different economic times the university and state have gone through,” Grant said. “I’m sure it will be welcomed, and they’ll appreciate the ability of the university to distribute those funds.” Kevin Smart, director of human relations, was involved with the collective bargaining agreements and said lump sums such as these could not be distributed in years past because of the state and federal economy. Smart said two groups, the Police Officers Association of Michigan and service maintenance members, will not receive lump sums this academic year, because the collective bargaining agreements were on a different cycle. “Our state support was cut again, and that’s always tough because that often gets translated right to the operating budget,” Smart said. university@cm-life.com
Events Center contribution, shared governance cited as some of reasons By David Oltean Senior Reporter
cost almost nothing for CMU. “In the current economic condition, it was vital that we help build revenue,” Heeke said. “This partnership will maximize exposure and solidify corporate sponsorship position at virtually no cost to CMU. This is a revenue-share plan that will provide staffing as well as sales expertise.” Current employees are not in danger of losing their jobs, he said. Athletics currently employs three full-time marketing employees, and IMG typically brings in a manager and account executive to head up its operation.
The Academic Senate’s vote of no confidence against President George Ross and Provost Gary Shapiro continues to gain support as the Council of Chairs endorsed the resolution during their meeting on Wednesday afternoon. The council, which consists of 22 department chairpersons and other constituents, approved the endorsement because of a number of issues, including the $10 million contribution to the CMU Events Center from university funds that was recently exposed. Brigitte Bechtold, chairwoman of the Council of Chairs, said the endorsement was overwhelmingly passed by the group’s members. “The Council of Chairs endorses the Senate’s resolution of no confidence in the administration of President Ross and Provost Shapiro, and we call upon the Board of Trustees to address the concerns raised therein,” the endorsement stated. Bechtold said members had additional concerns along with the issues of the administration’s shared governance policy, transparency and the decision-making process that many departments have expressed objections toward. Bechtold said the university’s $10 million contribution to the CMU Events Center as well as the recent appointment of Matt Serra as executive director of Faculty Personnel Services influenced the vote as well. “We have several additional issues to be concerned about,” Bechtold said. “Members are concerned about the $10 million we have heard about in the paper, issues related to a memo from the provost regarding the faculty personnel director that was appointed following a national search and several other issues.” Bechtold said the council had discussed endorsing the resolution during their meeting last month, and the Board of Trustees formal meeting Thursday did not factor in to the vote. “It was not planned to specifically have this vote before this Board of Trustees meeting, but the fact that the Board of Trustees will meet tomorrow may help our concerns be addressed,” Bechtold said. “The reason why the council took this up today was because it had already been considered at last month’s meeting.” A-Senate chair Jim McDonald said the endorsement, along with those previously made by academic departments, contradicts the former chair
A ATHLETICS | 6
A VOTE | 2
ADAM NIEMI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Central Michigan University President George Ross speaks to the board of trustees during their meeting Thursday in the Bovee University Center’s President’s Conference Room.
The $10 million question Ross says he wasn’t at CMU when allocation was made to Events Center By Catey Traylor | Senior Reporter
University President George Ross said Wednesday that he did not previously know $10 million was allocated from university funds to the Events Center. “It’s my understanding that the project was to be privately funded,” he said. “When it comes to fundraising, there will always be estimates.” At Tuesday’s Academic Senate meeting, Ross said $10 million from the university reserves was allocated to the Events Center after fundraising goals weren’t met. The expected cost of the Events Center was estimated at $21.5 million in 2007. In 2008, Director of Athletics Dave Heeke told Central Michigan Life that the university was committed to raising all of the money privately. “We’re going to go out and ask alumni, friends and others to contribute to this project,” he said in 2008.
Ross told members of the media Thursday following the Board of Trustees he was not at Central Michigan University when the $10 million allocation was made to the Events Center. “I wasn’t (at CMU); I was in Mississippi,” Ross said, referring to his time as president of Alcorn State University. “I can’t talk about what someone said when I wasn’t here. In the records, it was submitted as joint fundraising. I’d be speculating if I said anything beyond that.” Until Tuesday evening, the Events Center website said the project would be privately funded. Kathy Wilbur, vice president of development and A george ross | 6
board of trustees
Athletics enters contract with IMG By Catey Traylor Senior Reporter
The Central Michigan University Athletics Department will now have access to the same marketing techniques currently used by 70 of 75 Bowl Championship Series schools in America. Marketing, broadcasting and brand development for the athletics department will now be handled by IMG College, a division within the International Marketing Group. A brand utilized by universities across the nation, IMG provides training, billing and customer service support for all clients.
At Wednesday’s Finance and Facilities Committee meeting in the President’s Conference Room, Director of Athletics Dave Heeke said the service will build revenue for the athletics department. The revenue will be split, with 45 percent going directly to CMU athletics and 55 percent going to IMG. “In the first year, we expect revenue to decrease. By year two, we’re showing a $30,000 to $40,000 increase,” Heeke said. “In the span of the life of the agreement, a little over $10 million in revenue will be made by athletics.” Heeke said the partnership, a 10-year contract expected to be signed in the next few days, will
Students protest ‘fracking’ seminar Thursday By Melissa Beauchamp Senior Reporter
Chants of “Hell no, hydro-fracking has got to go,” were heard near the Mount Pleasant Comfort Inn and Conference Center on Thursday. Members of the Student Environmental Alliance and Taking Back the Tap were protesting from 2 to 6 p.m. outside the Inn, 2424 S. Mission St., where the Michigan Oil and Gas Association was holding a seminar. A Facebook event was created by Saline sophomore Chloe Gleichman, president of SEA, to raise awareness by protesting. About 70 people attended the event, coming and going over the four-hour time period. Gleichman said if water is poisoned, there is no turning back. “Water is a basic necessity for life,” she said. “If there’s no water, there’s no life.”
Walled Lake sophomore Mariah Urueta, SEA member, held a sign that read, “You can’t drink money and oil.” “We are here in opposition and protest of hydraulic fracturing,” Urueta said. “Fracking is absolutely outrageous and horrible.” A fact sheet on the Michigan Oil and Gas Association’s website said fracking is, “a safe, proven and essential process for recovering natural gas and oil from reserves found deep below the earth and often in tight rock.” Ureta said fracturing, “fracking,” is extracting natural gas from marcellus shale, and the process includes pumping gas that includes more than 600 chemicals into the ground that goes to the water table. According to msetc.org, marcellus shale is “a geological formation that was formed by the accumulation of
CHARLOTTE BODAK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A PROTEST | 2
Midland freshman Alexis Loebig, Waterford senior Alysha McClain and West Bloomfield sophomore Caitlin Richards chant “Once you frack you can’t go back” in front of the Comfort Inn Thursday afternoon.
[ I N S I D E] w A-Senate proposes shared governance committee, 3 w Concessions lost $43,000 last year at football games, 3 w GOP hopeful Fred Karger visits CMU; first openly gay man to seek presidency, 5
93 Years of Serving as Central Michigan University’s Independent Voice
w Gymnastics takes on winless George Washington Sunday, 8