Funding to improve cell phone signals in Norris University Center, a fall concert and increased undergraduate research opportunities were among the items approved by Northwestern administrators last week, in response to a proposal by the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee.
In March the committee presented its proposal to a group of administrators including University President Morton O. Schapiro, Provost Dan Linzer, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Eugene Sunshine, Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Ron Braeutigam.
Administrators agreed to funding five short-term proposal categories put forth by the UBPC. The first focused on “Improvement to Campus Facilities,” which includes Norris cell phone reception, additional electrical outlets in libraries across campus and Norris, and a new third space in Willard Residential College.
University administrators were responsible for deciding upon Willard as the location for the third space, incoming UBPC Chairman Anil Wadhwani said.
The University will also apportion money for “Community Building” with a fall concert.Under “Campus Security,” the University will fund cameras in the Technological Institute and additional light posts around Evanston.
Outgoing UBPC Chair Sandeep Kini said he was most excited about the fourth category of approved funding, “Undergraduate Research,” which will designate money for Faculty Assisted Research Awards and Summer Research Training Grants.
The UBPC, initially established about 10 years ago according to Kini, is composed of seven undergraduate members. It presents the University administration with an annual list of the most important priorities for improving the undergraduate experience.
This year, the committee relied heavily on the more than 2,000 student responses it received for its January undergraduate budget priorities survey in determining its 14-part proposal, Wadhwani said.
“We made a very strong effort this year to beef up our survey,” the Weinberg junior said. “We worked with a number of administrators to make the survey more professional.”Wadhwani added the survey asked students to identify their top priorities and then rank them in order of importance.
This year’s proposal was divided into 11 short-term and three long-term goals. The committee wanted to give the administration some ideas with a “five-to-10-year” timeline to contribute to the University’s strategic planning process, Wadhwani said.
This year’s long-term priorities were a new student center, an Office of Undergraduate Research and the Living Wage Campaign.
Former Associated Student Government President Mike McGee, who served on the UBPC, said the committee shares a mutually beneficial relationship with ASG.
“There are a lot of proposals the UBPC lobbies for, which we have committees in ASG already working on,” the Communication senior said. “And it works the other way, too, that sometimes ASG is having trouble pushing something through for funding, and the UPBC is a good avenue for that.”
McGee said he was pleased to see “Off-Campus Housing” proposed by the UBPC as its fifth category of short-term priorities. He said ASG has been “pushing for a while on this” and was glad to finally catch the administration’s ear. Next year the University will establish a new position under the dean of students, who will act as a liaison for students transitioning from dorm life to off-campus living.
Cell phone reception is something else ASG has been lobbying the administration for in the past few years, “and nothing had happened,” McGee said. “But this year Schapiro, in our initial meetings with him, was open to it.”
Committee members said the UBPC had a unique opportunity to take an even more comprehensive look at student issues on campus because it’s Schapiro’s first year as University president.
“We had at least three to four meetings with the administration before our final presentation,” McGee said. “Schapiro really just wanted us to throw everything his way, since it was important for him to get a read on what students at NU want, especially because its his first year.”
Kini, who has served on the UBPC for the past three years, said this year was distinct in the scope of funding the committee was able to propose and how much was actually approved for funding.
Wadhwani added the UBPC was pleased with what the administration handed back to them.
“We went into it expecting a lot from them, and there were a lot of very expensive items like better cell phone service in Norris,” he said. “But it is something students have consistently expressed an interest in, and this has demonstrated that the administration is in tune with that.”
