He explained that the Board members will be given a document that will identify the changes in the contract. It will be a fair document that will be open to suggestions. It will be a working document, and a decision about the contract will not be voted on until the September 20 Board meeting.
D.        President Lee Todd's Comments
President Todd reported that the fall semester begins Wednesday, August 24, and the students began moving on campus last Friday. The university's budget is for 3,800 Freshman students, but there will probably be 3,900. The Freshman ACT scores are not available at this time, and the administration will be watching that closely.
He announced that he and his wife, Patsy, had lunch with the Singletary Scholars recently. He noted that the Governor's Scholars and the Governor's School for the Arts programs are doing well.
The fall Freshman class will have 217 legacy students this year. This is an important program that brings the alumni back to campus.
Four new dormitories opened this fall. There are complaints from some parents of students who have to live in dormitories without air conditioning. He talked about the expense involved in putting air conditioning in old dormitories.
President Todd announced that the university's endowment is over $550 million, and the university will bring in $15 million during the month of August. The development reorganization is going very well, and Mike Richey has a lot of energy in the development area.
President Todd talked about the importance of salaries. The target is to get to 90 percent of the benchmark median salaries. To do so would take a 4 percent increase next year and 5 percent the following year. The administration is trying to break down the categories in order to get a 4 percent increase in place for next year. He said that the university has an obligation to the faculty to get their salaries increased.
The university's tuition is very reasonable. The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) will still try to have control over tuition. CPE will be putting a procedure in place that will make the institutions justify their tuition.
President Todd reported that the university received $274 million in research grants. This is a 15 percent increase over last year which represents $36 million more than last year. Corporate research dollars are also up this year.
The post doctoral goal has been met, and there was a record number of Ph.D.s awarded this year.
President Todd reported on the provost search. The committee evaluated the firms and selected Korn/Ferry to handle the search. The target date is July 1, 2006 to have someone in