After a contentious start to a regularly scheduled meeting, Illinois State University's governing body approved a series of resolutions Friday that will lead to the new College of Engineering eventually being housed in Bloomington.
Earlier this week, ISU's administration announced a plan to purchase property owned by Country Financial at 1709 and 1711 G.E. Road in Bloomington, signaling a pivot away from original plans to house the forthcoming college at its John Green and Carter Harris buildings on-campus.
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ISU's board of trustees approved two resolutions related to that change-of-plans on Friday: An authorization to purchase the property and a separate resolution to fund the purchase and pre-construction costs through general revenue reserves financed via borrowing.
The property purchase is slated to cost around $17.5 million; renovations around $33 million; and classroom, laboratory and other equipment around $4.5 million. That puts the overall total for the new College of Engineering's home at 1709 G.E. Road around $55 million — cheaper than an expected $80 million to renovate the two on-campus buildings, as originally planned.
ISU president Aondover Tarhule said the original plan also didn't allow for significant growth within the College of Engineering: the John Green building, he said, could only hold 520 students at its maximum capacity, making the purchase of three buildings and 392,000 square feet of space at G.E. Road more attractive.
Plans for the equity-focused College of Engineering have aimed for between 130-150 students enrolled in the first year and 500 by its fourth year. All plans have included temporarily housing College of Engineering students in Williams Hall in fall 2025 before moving to a set building in the fall 2026.
"At 520 [students], we will not be able to expand anymore. In order for the college to continue to grow, we would have to build a second building, which we have estimated will cost $150 million in order to bring in 1,000 more students," said Tarhule. "...So in the long term, this facility saves Illinois State at least $150 million, and it also allows the College of Engineering, if it is successful, to grow at its own pace, without restrictions due to space or state funding bureaucracy."
Around $3 million already has been spent on the John Green building on pre-construction, abatement and infrastructure preparations; some of the planning done for that building will be applied to the new Country Financial property.
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Ani Yazedjian said the logistics of getting students between ISU's main campus in Normal and its forthcoming campus in Bloomington are still being worked out. Until recently, she said, ISU had been bound by a nondisclosure agreement regarding the potential purchase, and was not able to speak with outside groups like Connect Transit.
"Will those questions and those discussions occur by the time students are in the building in the fall of 2026? Of course — and they will involve students," she said, adding the university also would work with academic advisors and others on engineering students' schedules to allow for travel time between campuses.
Budget situation
At the behest of trustee Scott Jenkins, Tarhule also explained that the purchase of the property from Country Financial is not at odds with ongoing messaging from the university about a structural budget deficit that, if left unaddressed, could total around $8 million in the current fiscal year.
"The budget deficits that we're talking about is a cash-flow problem: It's strictly the difference between revenues and expenses in any given year and our projections are that the expenses are going to exceed the revenues," Tarhule said.
"We are not saying Illinois State will not spend money on anything. We are taking a very strategic approach, which means even as we're trying to save money and cut costs in some areas, it is absolutely essential that we continue to invest and identify those areas that will support the university in the long term."
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Tarhule also told trustees he's been meeting with various campus leadership teams to discuss plans to address that deficit and forming a 33-member task force to help address the deficit is ongoing.
That task force, he said, will be tasked with "communication, transparency and campus engagement as we embark on the next stages of RISE [Resiliency, Innovation, Sustainability, Excellence] implementation."
That task force also will work closely with an external consultant hired to review ISU's financial planning and strategic budgeting processes; trustees approved a resolution to hire the yet-to-be-named consultant for up to $1 million.
Tarhule also said informational forums would be scheduled in the coming weeks to discuss both ISU's finances and those of higher education in general, with each forum including a question-and-answer session for staff, faculty and students.
Several searches for permanent administrators are currently underway, including for a permanent vice president of finance and planning, a dean of the College of Education, and a director of athletics. A search for a permanent chief equity and inclusion officer is expected to begin next semester, Tarhule said.
Public comment
Friday's meeting followed about a half hour of heated public comments where a students and faculty members expressed concerns and dissatisfaction with ISU's administration.
Carrie Anna Courtad, a professor in the College of Education, told trustees she had been dismayed by the response of an attorney, working on behalf of ISU, to faculty members who suggested hosting a joint lobbying effort in Springfield earlier this year.
"When [United Faculty of ISU]'s bargaining team approached this subject or this issue at the bargaining table, your lawyer was somewhat suspicious, asking questions like, 'How will we know that faculty are actually doing what they said they would do and not just taking a day off?'" Courtad said. "That line of questioning was downright insulting to our membership. ... The administration's team, the team representing you all, finally countered our proposal of a joint lobby day this week only to tell the United Faculty to go at it alone."
Jared Williams, an assistant professor in the Department of Technology, called upon ISU's administration to discuss financial terms with the tenured and tenure-track faculty union that has been bargaining its first contract since Feb. 28.
"It brings me no pleasure to share with you that things are not going well," he said. "We've finally been told that the administration will not bargain economic issues until all non-economic issues have been resolved What has caused even greater alarm, even anger in some cases, is that wherever you look, the administration's representatives are talking about dire financial conditions at ISU. ... Therefore, we call upon you as trustees to direct the administration to submit its financial proposal to us at our next bargaining session on Oct. 18."
While 11 people had signed up for public comment on Friday, the board of trustees cut off the session after a little more than 30 minutes, prompting outcry from some meeting attendees and slated speakers.
"Boards across this state, public universities extend public hearings — why won't this board?" said University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 president John Miller. "Boards across this state extend time for public comment because they recognize the importance of hearing from the faculty, the staff, the students and the community. Why is this board afraid of doing that?"
Board chair Kathy Bohn did not respond directly, but said the BOT had allowed more than 30 minutes for public comment and would accept written comments from anyone else slated to speak. As faculty and students left Friday's meeting, they chanted "shame" to the board.