EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE;

CURRENT ISSUES

1. (NEW) Given current budget concerns, what will be your highest priorities in the next few years? If the legislature or governor imposes additional across-the-board budget cuts on the university, how would you respond?

2. (NEW) Tuition at the University of Connecticut rose fairly dramatically this year. What can the University do to ensure that the school will remain affordable?

3. (NEW) There have been several recent reports about the serious consequences of heavy drinking among college students, particularly binge drinking. How bad is the binge-drinking problem at UConn? Is it getting worse or are we just talking about it more?

4. (NEW) Many students complain of the lack of alternative social space at UConn-Storrs, and many blame the lack of alternative social options for the rampant alcohol abuse. What can the University do to address these concerns?

5. (NEW) A bill before the legislature seeks to make UConn a dry campus. Is this an area for legislative action or should the university, like many others across the country, be left to adopt its own policies to address this problem?

6. (NEW) Affirmative action has recently been legally challenged at the University of Michigan. There, minority students receive extra points on their applications. President Bush has challenged the use of racial preferences in college admissions. What are your feelings on race-based admissions? Does UConn have an affirmative action policy? Should UConn promote racial diversity of its faculty?

7. (NEW) Title IX requires that universities devote equal resources to men’s and women’s sports. At many schools, this has resulted in the elimination of less popular men’s teams. Some say that this could be avoided by not devoting so many resources to the most popular men’s sports, such as football and basketball. Do you think that it is worth sacrificing certain men’s teams, such as golf and diving, in order to devote more funds to a football team?

8. (NEW) Many students are concerned that class size at UConn has increased in recent years. Is large class size jeopardizing the quality of education at the university?

9. (NEW) What efforts are made to attract out-of-state students to the university? Are the efforts being made at the expense of in-state students?

10. (NEW) Regional campuses have seen their programs expand significantly in recent years, and UConn 2000 has made possible some physical improvements to those campuses. However, much of UConn 2000 efforts have been directed at the University’s flagship school in Storrs. Should more be done for the regional campuses in future campaigns for UConn? Would the regional campuses be better served by plant improvements, or by more human resources such as instructors?

11. (NEW) How has the university improved security on the UConn campus in light of the recent reports of assault on the campus?

12. Many NCAA Division I schools have been criticized for their low athlete graduation rates, especially among African-American males. What is UConn's athlete graduation rate? How does it compare to the school's overall graduation rate? Does the board need to do anything to improve athlete or overall graduation rates?

13. (NEW) Do you believe that the University’s emphasis on sports is overshadowing its pursuit of academic excellence? What can the University do to ensure that it continues to be known for academic excellence?

14. (NEW) The North Carolina legislature used its budgetary power to block the assignment of a book called Approaching The Qur’an: The Early Revelations to incoming University of North Carolina students. How do you feel about this? Should academic freedom have any limits?

15. Some environmentalists and Storrs residents have recently been very critical of UConn. Among other things, they say the university has ignored people whose wells it has allegedly polluted, and claim it misled people about the environmental impact of aspects of its ambitious building program. How would you balance the university's growth with the need to preserve the environmental quality of life for the university and its neighbors?

16. (NEW) UConn's growth is bound to affect Storrs and the surrounding community. What can the board do to make sure those effects are positive? Do you foresee a time when the board should stop UConn's growth? If so, when would that be?

17. What is your position on teaching assistants unionizing?

ISSUES RELATING TO AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Colleges and universities, including UConn, are using more part-time and adjunct faculty. How does this trend affect UConn's mission and quality? How does it affect staff morale?

2. What can or should the university do to help the legislature in formulating public policy? How can the university collaborate with other state agencies to solve difficult public health, social, or environmental problems?

3. Many research universities are developing closer relationships with the corporate world. Proponents call this strategic collaboration; critics call it a sell-out. How does UConn balance the benefits of corporate support against the potential pitfalls of corporate control?

4. What special skills or experience do you bring to the board, particularly to help guide UConn through another major building program?

VR: PM: RO/eh