Minutes of December 9, 2004 Meeting

	The meeting convened at 10:04 a.m. in room 817, Cathedral of 
Learning.

	UPBC members present were: James Alexander, Livingston Alexander, 
Stephen Carr, David DeJong, Christine Dollaghan, Jacqueline Dunbar-Jacob, 
James Maher, Linda Marts, Maureen McClure, Thomas Metzger, Stephen 
Wisniewski, and Thomas Wolf.  Also present were: Richard Henderson, 
Jeffrey Liebmann, Robert Pack, Paul Supowitz, and Thurman Wingrove.
	UPBC members not present were: Nicholas Bircher, Carolyn Carson, 
Mary Ann Caton, N. Jerome Cochran, Richard Colwell, John Cooper, Rakshiet 
Jain, Brian Kelly, Ronald Larsen, Arthur Levine, Carol Neuner, Arthur 
Ramicone, and Michael Stuckart.

Approval of Minutes and Report of the Provost

	The minutes of the April 15 and April 29 meetings were approved.  
The Provost oriented new members on the structure of the Committee and its 
subcommittees.

Discussion of the FY 2006 Commonwealth Appropriation Request

	Wingrove summarized the University's appropriation request of 
$186,669,000 for FY 2006, which represents a 10.6% increase over FY 2005.  
He explained that the amount of the increase was driven in large part by a 
desire to restore cuts in the University's appropriation in recent years. 
The request assumes a 4% increase in tuition and a 4% increase in salary 
budgets.  He provided Committee members with a summary of the University 
budget and the budget process.

Status of the Commonwealth Budget

	Supowitz discussed the budget outlook in Harrisburg for FY 2006, 
which is in a very early stage.  He stated that the economy is continuing 
to recover and that revenue projections are ahead of the previous year.  
He added, however, that the loss of federal funding for Medicare and 
Mental Health/Mental Retardation funding has created a $1 billion hole in 
the Commonwealth budget.  Supowitz noted that the Governor's priorities 
for the FY 2006 budget are "human capital" issues, including education.

Matters Arising

	Carr raised the issue of faculty salary comparisons for regional 
campus faculty.  Maher replied that discussions are underway and that a 
recommendation will be forthcoming to the UPBC.  He explained some of the 
difficulties inherent in creating valid comparison groups for the 
regionals, given the University's overall stance toward salaries, the 
necessarily varying stances by unit, and the problems in obtaining 
appropriate data.  Maher noted the success the University has achieved in 
recent years relative to faculty salaries on the Pittsburgh Campus and 
believes that an appropriate benchmark for the regional campus faculty is 
achievable.  He also noted that such a benchmark will necessarily be more 
general and less focused than that in use for the Pittsburgh Campus.

	The meeting adjourned at 11:42 a.m.