Belief that the university’s 37-member planning and budget council was, “too large to do its job,” once again arose Friday, although a resolution last month was voted down 23-4 at October’s meeting.

The Faculty Senate resolution for the Council on University Planning and Budget would have reduced membership to 15. The current setup divvies up responsibilities to advisory committees that report to committees. They then report to the council’s executive board.

“I was on this council when it was truly effective in a substantive way,” said senate Chair David Carpenter. “This has become in an ineffectual council. I’m sorry to say that, but it’s true.”

The senate passed the resolution asking for the council’s reduction last spring.

The council’s executive council met with President Lou Hencken last week and discussed the possibility of reducing the size.

Hencken is open to restructuring the council, but CUPB chair Chris McCormick said some executive board members favor the current council membership.

“Let’s see if we can improve the functioning within the given structure, even though this may not be the ideal way to do it,” McCormick said the board told Hencken. “We just haven’t had the chance to clarify timing and how the subcommittees really functioned.”

The executive board consists of seven members representing faculty, administrators, college deans or department chairs and the four vice presidential areas – academic affairs, business affairs, external relations and student affairs.

The executive board also discussed implementing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats report with Hencken.

The report was compiled last year and released at the CUPB’s September meeting.

The executive board discussed whether those standards should be implemented in their yearly review, and take the SWOT report “one step further,” McCormick said.

McCormick also noted the SWOT report aided Hencken in determining his nine presidential goals such as heightening Eastern’s image and enhancing technology equipment.

Now, the four academic vice presidents have to tailor focus statements that become more specific as the goals trickle down to every department and/or director of the university. Their statements plan for ways to make the goals reality.

External relations, student affairs and academic affairs will complete the rewording within the next week, its committee representatives stated. Business affairs has its focus statement completed.

The focus statements are for the 2006 President’s Council calendar.

The council also:

– OK’d the advisory subcommittee volunteers into their positions. Volunteers were selected last month.

– Collected responses to the questionnaires supplied by the North Central Accreditation Steering Committee, which is conducting the self-study this year in preparation for the 2005 site visit.

– Discussed pursuing figures that prove Eastern is the most cost-effective university in the state, State Senator Chapin Rose, R-Charleston, told Carpenter.

Administration editor Tim Martin can be reached at [email protected]