by Roy Taylor, Daily Vidette Reporter

ISU president Thomas Wallace addressed the Normal Town Council Monday night in what members of the council called his second annual “state of the university” speech.

Wallace said there is “nothing positive” in the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s report to cut over 190 programs at state colleges and universities.

He said he sympathizes with the board because of the state funding problems, but that its recommendations will create “severe consequences statewide.”

“The board did not listen to the universities” when they drew up the proposals, he said.

Wallace pointed out that Illinois ranks dead last in education funding, and urged the council members to pressure their legislators and the governor to work on funding issues.

Wallace updated the council on the university’s enrollment reduction plan, which began several years ago.

“ISU has been in a unique position in the state for many years; it has been underfunded by $17 million while being overenrolled by 3,000 students," Wallace said.

ISU is in the third year of the enrollment reduction program, and is halfway to its target of 18,273 undergraduate students, according to Wallace.

Wallace also said he is “very proud” of ISU’s consistent increases in minority enrollment.

“In 1988, we had 1,200 minority students enrolled at ISU, and now we have increased that number to 1,815, which is almost 50 percent, he said.

Wallace also pointed out that ISU also ranks either first or second “depending on who you talk to” in the state in minority graduation rate.

Although the enrollment reduction plan is working and is on target, the university may not reach its targeted level on time, Wallace said.

Wallace provided a scenario to the board members for why and how this might happen.

“With the cost of education and lack of financial aid today, we are seeing more and more students who do not graduate in four years,” Wallace said. “Some students are now having to work almost full-time jobs and take fewer classes per semester.”

Wallace explained that ISU receives its state funding based on the number of credit hours taken, so to make up for the fewer hours taken, ISU will have to admit more students.

This is bad for the university because of the enrollment cut will not be met, but good for the town’s apartment owners because there will be more students to rent apartments, Wallace said.

The apartment owners were upset when the reduction plan was first announced, but they should be a little happier now, Wallace said.

And for the first time in recent years, ISU did not admit over 100 percent of its capacity in the residence halls, he said.

“Usually, we are well over capacity in the halls in December, but this year we did not go over that level the first week of classes,” he said.

“Students deserve a better quality of life than to have to live in the dorm lounges,” he added.

In dealing with fund-raising, ISU must “act more like a private institution,” because more funds don’t look like they will come from the state, Wallace said.

He said the university has made great progress in fund-raising efforts over the last few years.

“In 1988, the school made $30,800, but we are up to $800,000 this year already, and we should have a million by February,” Wallace said. He distributed brochures depicting ISU’s new (story ended due to editing mistake)