About Bonds

Emphasizing that his vision for the University of Vermont of larger enrollment, better facilities, increased diversity and more academic excellence has increasingly become a new reality, President Daniel Mark Fogel ticked off markers of progress as the Board of Trustees considered the next steps of the plan.

The markers include a "high-water mark" of $125 million in research awards; an all-time record level of diversity among students, faculty and staff; nearly $175 million raised through the comprehensive campaign; new construction; approval of the student center; and a long-term A+ bond rating from Standard & Poor's.

We are keeping our eyes on the prize, the building of academic quality inside and outside the classroom for our students, increased recognition and visibility for our robust and distinguished research enterprise, a deeper and ever-more effective commitment to our indispensable role as a driver of the intellectual, cultural, social, and economic well-being of Vermont, Fogel said during the Nov. 10-13 trustees meetings.

During the sessions, trustees gave approval and allocated funds for planning a proposed new plant sciences building that would replace Hills Building. They also authorized planning for a renovation of the Wing-Davis-Wilks residence halls. The group also approved seeking a five percent increase in the universitys state appropriation for the next fiscal year.

The board unanimously approved an important set of resolutions authorizing the use of commercial paper as a mechanism to improve board-approved capital projects. This allows the university to take advantage of good short-term interest rates and take on debt as funds are needed, rather than all at once.

The possible new plant sciences building, which the university will spend up to about $3.91 million from a previous state appropriation to plan for, will offer new facilities for plant and soil science and botany and agricultural biochemistry.

The Wing-Davis-Wilks renovation plan, which the board approved spending up to $2 million to develop, will go up for board approval early next year. The renovation is part of a 10-year, $169 million effort to completely renovate campus residence halls.

If granted, the universitys requested increase in its state appropriation would begin a multi-year process of moving the universitys ranking from 47th to 40th nationwide for state support (as measured by relating funding to per-capita income) among public institutions. The request was prompted in part by two recently released studies, one by the Vermont Business Roundtable and another by the Windham Foundation, which showed UVM as a key player in state economic development. These reports echo similar findings by Vermonts Commission on Higher Education Funding.

The board will meet again from Feb. 5-7, 2005.

Board of Trustees Committee Reports

Finance and Budget: Michael Gower, vice president for finance and administration, outlined details of the commercial paper program as a means to allow short-term financing options for the approximately $184 million of projects that have already been approved.

Bond In Investing Savings Gower offered five reasons for establishing the program:

• Avoid requirement to borrow necessary funding for approved projects immediately
• Provide ongoing access to funding for capital projects on a taxable and tax-exempt basis, similar to a bank line of credit
• Maintain flexibility during construction
• Permit greater flexibility in the management of the debt portfolio including the ability to convert commercial paper to permanent bond financing
• Consider additional cash optimization strategies in the future

The committee and full board approved the plan. The votes came shortly after news of an A+ bond rating for the university from Standard & Poors. The rating company said it had never seen a plan as detailed and as carefully articulated as the universitys 10-year vision.

The court then appoints a trustee who will review the payment plan. The trustee has the power to approve or reject the plan. Once the payment plan is approved, the debtor must make monthly payments to the trustee, who will distribute those payments to the creditors as laid out in the payment plan.

Bond Investment Toledo Toledo In other business, the group approved raising summer tuition rates to bring them into line with those of the regular academic year as part of a multi-year plan to equalize tuition throughout the year.

Facilities and Technologies: Salvatore Chiarelli, director of physical plant, gave the committee a progress report on utilities master planning at the university with a particular focus on the potential of a tri-generation system for heating, cooling, and providing electricity. Chiarelli noted a number of advantages of such a system, including improving environmental impact, economic efficiency and aesthetics. Michael Gower said that tri-generation is a promising alternative, with project costs (estimated at $11.5 million) likely recouped by utility savings within nine years. Now we need to dig deeper into the analysis to build this into specifics, Gower said. The board will likely consider approval of the tri-generation project, which would provide utilities to the University Commons, at the February meetings.

In action related to the proposed Plant Sciences Building, the committee authorized a nearly $4.1 million state capital appropriation request for fiscal year 2006 that would be earmarked for the project. Trustees also voted to move ahead with planning on the plant sciences building, work that will be funded by a previous state capital appropriation of $3.91 million.

The group also discussed questions recently raised by the Vermont Building and Trades Council, which has asked the university to re-examine its procurement practices in hiring construction contractors. Vice President Michael Gower said that the administration has complied fully with university policy on selecting contractors. Broadening that policy to include considerations such as the wages and benefits contractors provide sub-contractors is a matter for the board to decide, Gower said.

Academic and Student Programs: Lauck Parke, vice president for undergraduate education, reported that the 8,143 students who began classes this semester represent the third-highest undergraduate enrollment in university history. Retention rates have significantly improved, he said, and this fall marked an all-time high of 150 for first-year ALANA enrollments.

Parke presented highlights of a report on an admissions strategic plan developed for UVM by consultant Jim Black, associate provost for enrollment services at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. The plan identifies nine strategies for enrollment, some of which have already been adopted. They include using an integrated enrollment management approach, expanding student recruitment to the national market and working to make UVM the institution of first choice for high quality students.

In other business:

• Don DeHayes, dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, discussed how the school has changed undergraduate advising since the 1990s. Improvements include creating an advising handbook, adding service-learning opportunities and hiring an intern/career coordinator.
• Frances Carr, vice president for research and dean of graduate studies, provided an overview of the Vermont Advanced Computing Center at UVM, a NASA-funded program that supports computing-related research, education, technology transfer and research collaboration.

Diversity: The group presented a draft document, "Why Diversity is an Academic and Institutional Strategic Priority for the University of Vermont," for discussion in front of a standing-room-only audience. The resolution, which was subsequently approved in full by the whole board, would amend the charge of the committee and restate the trustees commitment to diversity. The text begins with a clear and strong statement, The University of Vermont holds that diversity and academic excellence are inseparable.

In other business, the committee heard presentations by Annie Stevens, assistant vice president of student and campus life, on creating a diverse community and McNair Scholar Evan Litwin on Chittenden County's changing racial and class demographics.

The money needed to pay the amount due on a loan. Debt Service Reserve Fund A bank trustee account established by the trust indenture and used as a backup security for an issuer's obligations. It usually amounts to one year's debt service, and can be drawn on by the Trustee in the event of an impairment of the Trust indenture. Demand Deposit

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