The Faculty Senate Tuesday heard updates on the re-organization of the School of Adult and Continuing Education and an update on the EIU Foundation.

“We are reorganizing the school to become better organized and efficient,” said William Hine, dean of the School of Adult and Continuing Education.

Hine noted that while the need for such education is increasing, the competition also is getting tight in the region.

Senate member French Fraker, counseling and student development professor, said class enrollment for the school is up 17 percent over last year, and Hine said there are currently 13 other universities and colleges competing in the adult education market in Eastern’s region.

“We are a bridge between the faculty and the outside community to meet the needs of the adult population,” Hine said.

The school hired an outside consultant to focus on how they could be better organized and more efficient, and the school has participated in a number of studies to determine what kind of reorganization is needed.

Hine said the current reorganization plan is in a “draft” stage.

The current proposal would involve the creation of four units surrounding the office of the dean.

One office will deal with credit and non-credit programs and another will deal with registration and administrative infrastructure.

Two other offices will be dedicated to non-technology faculty development and the BOT Program, which Hine said has been very successful.

The office of the dean will incorporate fund raising and information system specialists as well as a clerical support staff.

Hine said the reorganization will only involve the hiring of one additional part-time marketing employee.

He said faculty development has been very underfunded.

“If we say our strength at Eastern is faculty and student relations, then there is no better way to spend money than on faculty development,” Hine said. “The funding is minuscule. I’m not going to want to deal with that unless the university wants to fully fund it.”

Hine also discussed the impact of Eastern’s distance education initiative on his school.

“I think our workload will significantly increase with the addition of distance education,” Hine said.

Jon Laible, executive officer of the EIU Foundation, made a presentation to the senate stating that the foundation’s current assets stand at $37 million, up between $2 and $2.5 million over last year.

Laible said the official designation of the EIU Foundation is as a university related organization.

“We are a non-for-profit corporation separate from the university,” Laible said. “The mission of the foundation is not fundraising…the purpose of the foundation is to hold and invest assets of donors to the university.”

The foundation has a total of $21 million for endowments, the majority of which are scholarships.

“This year $431,000 was used for scholarships, which is up from $366,000 for last year,” Liable said. “However, due to the lack of distribution from department chairs and college deans, there was $100,000 left over that could have been used for scholarships this year.”

Laible also said the foundation has “simplified” its investment portfolio.

“We had some money invested in international funds, but we have chosen to take those out,” Laible said.

He said the foundation was formed in 1953 and has experienced significant growth over the last 10 years. The foundation’s endowment is larger than those of Western Illinois University and Illinois State University.

In other business, the senate heard an update on the vice president for an academic affairs position search.

“I believe the names of the five final candidates will be released tomorrow,” said Senate member John Best, psychology professor.

Best said the on-campus interviews of the five final candidates will begin next week, and the committee hopes to make the final recommendations by the end of April.

In addition, Senate Chair James Tidwell, journalism professor, reported that the Technology Enhanced and Delivered Education steering committee is getting close to making a recommendation on the administrative models for technology at Eastern.

The committee’s next meeting will occur next Tuesday.