Highlights from the Board of Regents Meeting, Feb. 1-2, 2018

Highlights from each Board of Regents meeting will be reported in the Pacific Insider to inform the campus community of the Board's actions and major discussions. The Board plays an important role as the governing body of the university, responsible for the quality and integrity of the education provided to students and the financial sustainability of the university. The chair and chair-elect of the Academic Council, the president and president-elect of the Pacific Alumni Association and the president and vice president of the Associated Students of University of the Pacific are recognized as non-voting liaison representatives to the Board and provide a report at each meeting.

Major highlights from the February 2018 meeting:

Compensation philosophy adopted
In support of Pacific's efforts to attract, retain and reward qualified and diverse faculty and staff, the Board of Regents adopted a university-wide compensation philosophy that is in alignment with market trends and best practices while staying within the constraints of the current budget and long-term sustainability. View the adopted compensation philosophy on the University Policy Website.  

Library renovation moves forward
As part of its commitment to academic excellence and student support, the Board of Regents approved moving the Library Renovation project into the construction phase, which will allow the selection of a builder while the project design is being finalized. 

The renovation will transform the first and second floors. The first floor will house The Cube, café, and open study areas. The second floor will be a more quiet space, with a reading room, classrooms, and quiet collaboration areas. There will be technology improvements and enhancements throughout this phase. 

Graduate education SIF proposal approved
So Pacific can provide more robust and consistent support for students and faculty for extant and new graduate programs across its three campuses, the Board of Regents approved a Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) request from the Graduate School. The approved request is for $630,100 in base funding. In addition to this amount, the Academic Division has contributed $300,000 in one-time and $305,000 in base funding.  

The Graduate Education proposal is in alignment with the Pacific 2020R goal of supporting graduate students and addresses recommendations from the August 2016 Council of Graduate Studies campus visit. A phased approach will be used to address the areas of leadership and staffing, admission processing and recruitment support, and graduate student success and experience. 

Some academic programs to be closed
In response to faculty requests and to meet the changing needs of students and employers, the Board of Regents approved the following academic program closures. Faculty have designed a teach-out plan for each of these programs to allow all current students to complete their degrees. 

• Bachelor of Arts in Art
  The faculty of the Department of Art and Graphic Design recommended the closure of this program following significant revisions to the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Studio Arts and the introduction of the Media X bachelor's degree program.

• Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies
  Due to a number of reasons, including low enrollment, the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies and the Department of History requested this closure. The closure will also help eliminate confusion with the Diversified Liberal Studies degree offered by the Benerd School of Education.

• Master in Education (M.Ed.)
  This program was recommended for closure by the faculty of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction after a review of the MA degree program developed in the 2013-14 academic year determined that the new program, which offers different concentrations, was successfully preparing graduates for teaching and advanced study.  

Parking solar shades coming
As part of its commitment to sustainability and innovation, the Board of Regents approved advancing a new Parking Solar Shades Project to the pre-planning and programming and schematic design/design development phases. As many as eight parking lots on the Stockton Campus present viable options for the installation of solar shade system that would generate approximately six megawatts (MW) of energy. Proposals will be solicited and a third party company selected to install, maintain and operate the solar arrays for a set time, typically 25 years.  

Estimated net savings are anticipated to be approximately $84,000 the first year of operation. Net savings over 25 years would be more than $11 million. The environmental benefit of a six MW system would be the elimination of over 50,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 25 years. Various options, including battery storage and integrated electric vehicle charging stations, may be considered.