Committee review paves way for governance changeover

As the University of Oregon Board of Trustees prepares to assume governance of the institution next month, one of its committees met Tuesday to learn more about critical transitional issues, including oversight of retirement plans, tuition policies and treasury operations.

The 15-member board takes responsibility for the UO from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education on July 1. In advance of the full board meeting June 12 and 13, its finance and facilities committee met Tuesday to review changeover issues, including:

  • Transferring management of the university retirement system from the Oregon University System to the UO. The UO will be taking over three plans — the Optional Retirement Plan, the Tax-Deferred Investment 403(b) plan and the Cash Balance President’s Plan.

    Together, the three plans have assets totaling $1.26 billion, although the Cash Balance President’s Plan accounts for less than $1 million.

    On June 6, the State Board of Higher Education will transfer those plans to the UO, and the UO Board of Trustees will assume fiduciary responsibility at its June meeting.
     
  • Policies on tuition and fees. Those policies have been under the purview of the state higher education board, as outlined in a policy book. The UO Board of Trustees needs to adopt its own tuition rate and policy book that is specific to the University of Oregon, said Jamie Moffitt, vice president for finance and administration.
     
  • Treasury-related policies. The full UO Board of Trustees intends to repeal OUS treasury policies and adopt its own set of treasury policies, under the authority of the president, effective July 1.

    UO revenues are projected to be $905 million in fiscal year 2015, with expenditures at $901 million.

-By Tim Christie, Public Affairs Communications