April 10, 2007

MINUTES
University of Minnesota
Academic Health Center
Deans Council
April 10, 2007

The regular meeting of the Deans of the Academic Health Center was held on Tuesday, April 10 at 2:00 p.m. in 475 ChRC.

Members present:
Frank Cerra, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Connie Delaney, Dean, School of Nursing
John Finnegan, Dean, School of Public Health
Ron Hadsall, Senior Associate Dean (for Marilyn Speedie)
Jeffrey Klausner, Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Patrick Lloyd, Dean, School of Dentistry
Charlie Moldow, Senior Associate Dean, Medical School (for Deborah Powell)

Staff present:
Terry Bock, Chief of Staff
Barbara Brandt, Assistant Vice President, Office of Education
Jennifer Cieslak, Special Assistant to the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, AHC
Mary Koppel, Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs
Beth Nunnally, Chief Financial Officer, AHC
Mark Paller, Assistant Vice President, Office of Research

Guests Present
Marty McDonough, Assistant Director, Government Relations
Lorelee Wederstrom, Director, AHC Facilities Management

AHC Mentoring Policy
Mark Paller reviewed the draft mentoring policy.  He stated that many schools, divisions, and departments have highly developed, highly effective mentoring activities.  However this does not seem to be universal across the AHC.  Mentoring is highly valued and important to the success of its faculty, therefore the AHC needs to ensure that all junior faculty benefit from quality mentoring.  Therefore, it is expected that all junior faculty participate in a mentoring program from the beginning of their appointment.  It will also be expected that every department or college has a mentoring program that meets minimal criteria.  Deborah Powell asked that language about teaching, roles of teachers, and academic careers as teachers be added to the policy.  Connie Delaney commented that she particularly liked that career development plan projects include research projects or scholarly activities.  Mark Paller will forward the revised document to the Deans Council members by email.

Research Corridors
Frank Cerra discussed the latest draft of the conceptual framework for research corridors that will define the AHC’s areas of research focus, as the University pursues the goal of becoming one of the top three public research universities in the world. The areas of focus are defined by the faculty.  It is expected that new corridors will be developed over time and others may transition into a new form.  Frank Cerra asked the deans to review the document and provide feedback by the end of the week.

AHC Compact Requests
Beth Nunnally summarized the AHC compact requests which include commitments already made for funding in FY08, new AHC initiatives/requests for FY08, and  programmatic compact requests by AHC schools and colleges.  Frank Cerra stated that the schools/colleges were well prepared and the discussions very valuable at the compact meetings. 

MERC Update
Marty McDonough summarized Senate and House proposals for changing MERC distribution funding this session.   The Senate proposal would also eliminate the AHC’s discretionary fund, reducing funding by $2 million and seriously affecting AHC programs beginning in 2009.  We are working with Senator Berglin to change the Senate proposal and hold AHC programs harmless.

Academic Council
The first meeting of the Academic Council was held on April 6.  Jennifer Cieslak distributed the meeting agenda, and reviewed questions from the meeting.

Capital Budget Update
Lorelee Wederstrom reviewed the capital budget requests submitted by AHC units and schools.  The list of 2008 projects costing $500,000 or more are due to the budget office by April 12.  These projects must have their pre-designs completed or near complete and funding identified.  These projects will go to the Board of Regents for review in May and approval in June.  Lorelee also asked the deans to review the projects under $500,000 to be sure the list is accurate and complete so that her office can begin to schedule that work. 

The meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kathy Anderson
Staff to the Academic Health Center Deans Council