May 17, 2016
From the VP for administration and finance: Kansas Board of Regents May meeting agenda items
Dear Campus Community,
The Kansas Board of Regents will meet May 18-19 at the Curtis State Office Building in Topeka. The board will consider the following agenda items during the meeting.
The Regents will appoint Retirement Plan Committee members. The board established the committee in 2005 to provide oversight of the board's mandatory retirement plan. Board staff recommend Gary Leitnaker, director of labor relations and special projects at K-State, be reappointed for another three-year term, and Mirta Martin, Fort Hays State University president, be appointed as the Council of Presidents representative to replace Kirk Schulz.
All state universities submitted fiscal year 2017 tuition and fee proposals for first reading. The Regents will take final action at the June meeting. Proposals will be made public on Wednesday, May 18, following the Regents discussion.
The Regents will approve the fiscal year 2017 Johnson County Education Research Triangle Authority, or JCERTA, budgets. The JCERTA legislation was approved by the 2007 Legislature and in November 2008, Johnson County voters approved a 1/8 cent sales tax to support three projects at the University of Kansas, the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas State University. Funds for K-State support research and education programs in animal health and food safety and security at K-State Olathe. View the budget proposal.
Kansas State University requests authorization to amend the fiscal year 2016 capital improvement project plan to renovate the veterinary anatomy labs on the third floor of Trotter Hall. Currently, the third floor is one large open space used for gross anatomy labs, microanatomy labs and student study space. The 12,905-square-foot renovation will provide critical facilities updates and enhance the educational culture. The estimated total project cost is $4.7 million of which $2.7 million will be funded from private gifts and the remaining amount will be funded from College of Veterinary Medicine general fees funds.
The Regents will receive and discuss the fiscal year 2018 capital improvement requests and five-year plans. The Regents will take final action in June. Capital improvement projects include new buildings, remodeling or alternations, annual maintenance and utility projects for which costs exceed $1 million. View the requests and board staff recommendations.
The Regents will act on proposed amendments to the board's leave policy. The proposed policy change will enhance the annual leave accrual for university support staff employees so annual leave accruals are consistent for all university staff. Unclassified professionals and university support staff appointed to full-time 12-month positions may earn vacation leave to a maximum of 176 hours per fiscal year. The maximum number of accrued vacation leave days is limited to 304 hours. A second proposed amendment recommended by board staff would return the policy to the original language. The proposed amendment will allow leave in connection with the sickness or death of someone in an employee's family and remove "other qualified adult" in accordance with the holding of the 2015 Supreme Court decision.
The Regents will act on a proposed policy addition to create a working group of Title IX coordinators that reports to the Council of Presidents. University Title IX coordinators would meet quarterly to share information and best practices.
The Regents will elect the fiscal year 2017 board chair and vice chair.
If you have any questions about these agenda items, please contact me at cab@k-state.edu or 785-532-6226. The meeting also will be streamed live online. For live updates on all Kansas Board of Regents meetings follow @ksregents on Twitter. Agendas and complete meeting minutes also are available online.
Sincerely,
Cindy Bontrager
Vice president for administration and finance