Faculty Consultative Committee will have dinner with the regents April 8. Intellectual property policy has been redrafted by a faculty-administrative team over the last several months, has been the subject of widespread consultation, and will be taken to the regents in draft form this week. Course materials designed for the Web, distance education, or technology-oriented education are included as regular academic work products. Some other universities are claiming ownership of products created by faculty through new technology, but the U's policy does not go in this direction. Intensive budget conversations are planned for April on how to cover costs not associated with the legislative request, including the technological infrastructure, enterprise system, Web development needs, Internet II, and facilities.
Problem is that technology and facilities costs grow faster than revenues.
We don't have a choice. Possible solutions are to reduce costs or assign costs to units. FCC and Senate Committee on Finance and Planning will meet to discuss alternatives later this month. Charles Casey has been named interim dean of the U of M Extension Service, effective April 1. He has spent more than 27 years in rural veterinary medicine practice, served as a regent for 12 years, and was chair of the board from 1989 to 1991.