Institute Management Team Meeting

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Attending: Mike Demissie, Tom Emerson, Libby Johnston, Sue Key, Mona Knight, Don McKay, Terry McLennand, Luis Rodriguez (representing David Thomas), Bill Shilts, Steve Wald, Angie Wisehart

1.  Senator Alan J. Dixon Lecture and Book Signing

Bill reported that he received an invitation to attend Senator Dixon’s lecture and book signing at the I Hotel & Conference Center on September 18. He is not able to go, but it is a public event. He will forward the invitation to the group for anyone who is interested.

2.  Follow-up from Jo Daviess County Visit

Bill reported that Beth Baranski has followed-up with him by email from the Jo Daviess County visit. She continues to inquire about the Institute having a presence in that area. Terry added that the Director of the Galena Historical Society indicated an interest in the Institute having a bigger presence there. Tom added that he already has staff in that area, but there could be an opportunity to do a comprehensive zoning study that would include several Surveys. That county could be an example for other counties. Bill will invite her to a future management team meeting to go into more details.

3.  Cook County Forest Preserve District Agreement

Tom reported that he has signed the agreement with the Cook County Forest Preserve District. This will be a challenge, but it will be exciting. He does not plan to hire new people, but move staff off of IDOT funding.

4.  External Affairs Update

Terry reported that he has been working on the legislative proposals. He shared a draft copy of a memo that will be sent to Vice Chancellor Schiffer. The first proposal is built off of the Critical Trends Report. There are certain funds in the state that could be generated to support research of natural resources, looking at landscapes, economic development, water issues, etc. This proposal could lay the groundwork that the state has the responsibility to address these issues. The Institute could provide the research and policy recommendations. Terry added that the University is also interested in generating these types of grants in the state. Terry also indicated that there are tax credits that are expiring. Those funds could be shifted. Also included in the memo is building support for new programs. The hydraulic fracturing legislation will have some cleanup. There may be an opportunity to create funding from that legislation.

5.  Institute Annual Report

Libby reported that she sent out the basic concept of the report to the Directors for comments or suggestions previously. Libby is starting on the Survey pages now and is thinking about some additions. She will provide a template to the directors for their messages. Libby added that she thinks it is very likely that she will be able to get a message from Chancellor Wise to include in the report.

6.  Survey Section Staff Meetings

Bill reported that he starts his staff meetings next week, beginning with ISAS. Bill has asked Libby to attend the meetings when she is available. Bill asked the Directors to let him know if there is anything specific that they would like him to address. Bill has heard that some people are interested in hearing about the Institute Strategic Plan and Bill’s vision. Mike indicated that some of his staff may ask about the classifications/promotions issues. Sue will give Bill some talking points. Luis indicated that some staff may want to discuss career development, educational opportunities. Bill feels that is up to the individual surveys, but that he is a proponent of career development/educational opportunities. Don added that at ISGS, staff will rotate attending conferences, workshops, etc. Several ISGS staff have completed Kepner-Tregoe workshops on project leadership. Mona added that a wide range of staff attended, and there was very positive feedback. Terry added that if staff are interested, the Office of the Vice President for Research can arrange for in-house workshops on grant writing. Sue added that Brian sent several staff to Washington, DC to attend an NSF grant-writing conference, and it received good reviews. Sue asked the Directors to encourage their staff to apply to the Academic Professional Development Fund, which is funded through the Provost’s Office. This fund helps cover the costs of approved travel for professional development. Bill and Sue asked that the Directors send Sue a summary of training that Survey staff have taken.

7.  Advisory Board Lightning Talks

Steve reported that he met with the students who will give lightning talks at the Advisory Board meeting. Samantha Carpenter (INHS) provided her past lightning talk as an example for the group.

8.  2014 Prairie Lightning Symposium

Steve and Libby reported that after talking with the Communications Team, it was agreed that holding the symposium during the same timeframe as when the Expo normally takes place would work out well. Steve asked the Directors to look at the week of March 20 to determine if there would be any major conflicts.

9.  Prairie Research Institute Anniversary Lecture Series

Steve reported that Sara Olson (ISWS) created a very nice poster for the Jack White lecture. Steve printed out fliers and asked the Directors to spread the word about the lecture on October 22.

10.  Office of Technology Management (OTM) Presentation

Angie reported that Lesley Millar (Director, OTM) will provide an overview of OTM at the October 24 Management Team meeting.

11.  LiDAR Availability

Don reported that Mark Yacucci (ISGS) has been working with Tari Tweddale (INHS) on her access to LiDAR data on the ISGS servers. She has full functionality. These data are available for anyone to use. ISAS has been using the data, and the Flood Plain section at ISWS is using it. If someone is interested in using the data, they should contact Don or Mark so that they can confirm the bandwidth is sufficient.

12.  Budget Update

Mona reported that the Medicare payments have increased. She sent the spreadsheets to the Directors and their budget offices. She will be processing transfers this month.

Mona reported that she and Gary met with Penny Benner (OVCR) to discuss segregation of business duties in the Institute. Overall, the meeting went very well. This is an exercise that is being required across the entire campus.

13.  ISWS Update

Mike reported that last evening he, Gary and Terry attended the Wetlands Initiative Annual Meeting in Chicago at the invitation of Kay Whitlock (Institute Advisory Board member). The meeting went well, and they met a lot of people.

Mike reported that he attended the Illinois River Conference last week, and it was a very successful meeting. ISWS had several presenters at the meeting. Mike was very proud of Laura Keefer’s (ISWS) effort as Co-Chair of the conference. Approximately 30 attendees did not attend due to the government shutdown. Some of those attendees were speakers, but Laura and her co-chair were able to find other presenters at the last minute. The Institute overall was well represented. Libby added that she noticed the Institute name, Survey names, and logos were all correct in the program.

14.  ISTC Update

Luis reported that Facilities & Services approved the grant for ISTC to complete the first phase of the Campus waste audit.

Luis reported that on October 24, the President of Proton Power in Tennessee will be the speaker for the ISTC Sustainable Seminar Series. He will discuss transferring biomass to energy. Luis invited everyone to attend.

15.  UIUC All Employee Expo

Sue reminded the group that that All Employee Expo is October 22. Joel Dexter (OED) will be on hand to take headshots of any employees who may want them. The Council of Academic Professionals wanted to be able to offer this service. Sue and Bill discussed it, and Bill agreed to let Joel do it. This is good PR for the Institute.

16.  Ethics Training

Sue reminded the group to get their Ethics training done by October 31.