The university's policy on rehiring retired professors was one of three items on President Hogan's report at the Board of Trustees meeting yesterday.
Hogan referred to Gov. M. Jodi Rell's request to examine the university's policy to rehire retired employees on a part-time basis, something that the university has been doing in an attempt to deal with budget cuts.
"We use retired rehirees on a seasonal, temporary basis," said Aliza Wilder, director of human resources. "It helps to mitigate some of our voids we might have."
Hogan said that with the exception of those at the Health Center in Farmington, the rehired retirees at UConn aren't paid through state-appropriated funds, which make up 35 percent of the funding the university gets every year, but are paid through other means.
One board member was concerned that these rehired people would be "double-dipping" by getting pensions and getting payments for academic activities.
"They aren't double dipping," Wilder said.
Another issue Hogan mentioned in his report was the revision of the university's laws and bylaws, which he said hadn't been updated in a long time.
"It looks to be edited more than it really is," Hogan said.
The revisions are in the process of being circulated to staff and faculty, who will make suggestions if necessary.
The board approved a motion to approve this notification, which will be sent to the University Senate Executive Committee.
The last issue Hogan mentioned was the budget crisis.
Despite a recent 2 percent rescission by the state, and a 5 percent rescission overall, Hogan remains optimistic about the future of the university.
"We will be able to, with someone confidence, balance the budget for fiscal year 10, assuming there are no more rescissions," Hogan said.
Another issue on the board's agenda was nominations for the Distinguished Professor award, announced by Provost Peter Nicholls.
The first nominee introduced was Gregory Anderson, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who has been at the university since 1973 and served as vice provost for research and graduate education from 2005 to 2008, among other distinguished positions.
Anderson is an expert on the evolutionary relationships of plants, the evolution of plant reproductive systems, and plant products in traditional cultures in Latin America.
Before discussing his research on the pepino, an exotic fruit native to South America, Anderson expressed his delight at being nominated.
"I know what illustrious company I'll keep with this honor, and that makes me even more honored," Anderson said.
Diane J. Burgess, a professor of pharmaceutics and editor of the International Journal of Pharmaceutics, was another person nominated for the honor. Her research in drug delivery has attracted $10 million in grant funding.
In her presentation, Burgess focused on her research regarding biosensors. Her implantable biosensor would analyze the biochemistry of the body when attached to the skin.
"With this information, you could quickly dose your glucose," Burgess said.
The third nominee, Diane Lillo-Martin, a professor of linguistics who has been at UConn since 1986, has been recognized for her research on American Sign Language.
"I am very humbly honored by this nomination," Lillo-Martin said before presenting her research.
Lillo-Martin is collaborating with a Brazilian academic to compare American Sign Language to other sign languages and just got a grant to do research about deaf children.
Be the first to comment on this article!