This is another roundup of news items as I catch up from last month while attempting to stay reasonable current on local government news. This post covers a few areas of news from University governance, starting with Title IX, but you can also click to jump to more on renewable energy, the recent UI trustees meeting on hiring and health insurance, or a list of other topics covered in previous posts.
There have been a few stories on Title IX regulations on the rights and protections for accusers and accused in sexual misconduct investigations at schools. News-Gazette coverage of a panel discussion on the issue summed up the concerns:
UI '#MeToo and Academia' panel: 'Title IX is shrinking rather than growing'More at the full article here. The University sent a letter expressing its concerns with the changes available here and the News-Gazette broke down the issues addressed in that letter in an explainer here. The paper also ran an AP story last month explaining the concerns about off-campus assaults no longer falling under university obligations to investigate:
Just as colleges and universities are shaping the future of how sexual-misconduct and -assault allegations are handled on campuses, one professor fears historical protections for victims are being chipped away at, as well.
"Title IX is shrinking rather than growing," University of Illinois law Professor Lesley Wexler said of the protections against sex discrimination during a "#MeToo and Academia" panel discussion Wednesday on campus.
That's how she views U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' recently announced plan to rework the definition of sexual harassment and narrow the types of cases colleges and universities are required to investigate under Title IX.
DeVos has said changes are needed in order to balance the rights of assault victims with those who are accused.
Sexual assaults at major colleges are more likely to be off campus, report saysMore at the full AP article available here on NBC's website.
At some of the nation's largest universities, the vast majority of sexual assaults take place not in dorm rooms or anywhere else on school property but in the neighborhoods beyond campus boundaries, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.
But the schools' obligation to investigate and respond to those off-campus attacks could be dramatically reduced by the Education Department's proposed overhaul of campus sexual assault rules. And that's alarmed advocacy groups and school officials who say it would strip students of important protections in the areas where most of them live.
In other U of I news the past month:
The University is taking bids for its second solar farm project:
UI issues request for bids for Solar Farm 2.0 projectMore details at the full article here. This week the Daily Illini highlighted the University's role in the State "going green" by 2050:
By next spring, a sea of blue solar panels could occupy a 54-acre farm field at the northwest corner of First Street and Curtis Road.
The University of Illinois has issued a request for proposals for a second large solar array to help meet its clean-energy targets.
UI Facilities and Services issued the RFP for the Solar Farm 2.0 project on Monday, seeking a 10- or 20-year power-purchase agreement with a private developer who would design, build and operate the facility and sell the energy to the campus at a fixed rate each year.
The UI's first solar farm, a smaller array that went online in 2015 along Windsor Road, was built under a similar 10-year agreement with Phoenix Solar Inc. The UI will buy that facility from the company at the end of the agreement.
UI leads Illinois going greenMore at the full article here.
The state of Illinois will move to using 100 percent renewable energy, which includes solar, wind and other naturally replenished energy sources, by 2050, according to the Clean Energy Jobs Act that passed Feb. 27.
Rizwan Uddin, director of the energy systems program, said Illinois is the most nuclear state in the country, as almost 50 percent of its energy comes from nuclear power...
Currently, a small amount of energy used in the state comes from solar and wind, which cuts down the carbon, Uddin said. Nuclear is currently counted as non-renewable, but it is carbon-free, which makes Illinois a wonderful green state.
“If it is not nuclear, they can rely on batteries,” he said. “But the battery technologies are not at a stage where you can store a huge amount of electricity that you can supply the entire state.”
The University in its turn has always been a big proponent of renewable energy. Uddin said this bill will be in line with what the University already has a policy on, which pushes toward carbon-free.
“But the challenge is not how much electricity we can produce with solar and wind, but the time when there is no wind and sun,” Uddin said. “The University will need something to back it up.”
The News-Gazette also had an overview of the most recent UI Board of Trustees meeting that covered issues like increased hiring as well as increased health insurance rates for students:
UI to hire hundreds more faculty over next 5 years to handle rise in enrollmentMore at the full article here. The News-Gazette had more on the health insurance rate hikes the day before in an article previewing the board meeting:
The University of Illinois plans to hire hundreds of new faculty members across its three campuses over the next five years to accommodate rising enrollment and invest in strategic areas.
That would mean 168 new positions for the Urbana campus, in addition to faculty hired to replace professors who leave or retire...
Agenda items approved by University of Illinois trustees Thursday:
— New student health insurance rates, including a 20 percent hike at Urbana to $544 a semester, though students can opt out if they're covered on their parents' plans.
— A new travel safety policy requiring all undergraduates traveling outside the U.S. as part of a UI activity to register their plans with the university, carry approved international insurance and attend mandatory orientations.
— A designation to name the new running track at Demirjian Park Stadium after legendary Illini track coach Gary Wieneke.
— A $4.4 million contract with CannonDesign, a New York-based consultant, to help prevent budget overruns for building projects at Altgeld Hall and Illini Hall. Several budget increases for other projects were also approved, including another $4 million for the Illinois Street Residence Halls renovation, to $59.5 million.
— A new dean for the UI College of Medicine in Chicago, Dr. Mark Rosenblatt, surgeon and head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
On UI trustees' agenda: Student health-insurance rate increase, mascot ideasMore at that full article here.
...
If trustees approve, undergraduates at the Urbana campus would pay $544 a semester for health insurance next school year, $89 more than before — a 20 percent rate increase. Graduate students would pay $696, up from $582 this year.
The health insurance, which is provided by United Healthcare, is optional for students who are covered under their parents' plans. About 54 percent of Urbana students opted out this year.
Executive Vice President Barbara Wilson said the insurer paid out $1.09 for every $1 it collected in premiums, with a rising number of claims and the average cost for each going up. That includes increases for prescription drugs, digestive-health and mental-health needs.
Undergraduate rates at the Urbana campus are second-lowest in the Big Ten, behind only Purdue, Wilson said. The graduate rate is higher because the Graduate Employees' Organization negotiated a top-tier health plan in their contract, she said. It falls in the middle among Big Ten schools.
But Urbana students also pay a mandatory $238 health-service fee each semester for the McKinley Health Center, which provides basic health services, counseling and generic prescription drugs without dipping into insurance.
Previous U of I related posts this month:
No comments:
Post a Comment