The Evansville Police Department Pension Board will hold an Executive Session on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 8:15 a.m. The meeting will be held in Room 301 of the Civic Center Plaza.
The Executive Session will be closed as provided by:
I.C. 5-14-1.5-6.1(7). For discussion of records classified as confidential by state or federal statute.
Immediately following the Executive Session, a regular Open Session will be heldÂ
in Room 301 of the Civic Center Plaza.
UE Faculty Endorses Questions About Institutional Realignment
Evansville— 2/1/21 —The University of Evansville (UE) Faculty has endorsed a Faculty Senate resolution that asks the President of the university, Christopher M. Pietruszkiewicz, to clarify how his institutional realignment process will proceed. The resolution passed by 78 votes to 13 with 6 absences. The President now has until Friday to respond to the resolution.
The resolution endorsed by the Senate and the faculty argues that, while the implementation of the President’s institutional realignment plan has begun, much remains unclear regarding all three of its parts: the academic, the administrative, and the athletic. The resolution begins by discussing the academic part of the institutional realignment plan. It notes that the President has frequently said that he wishes to invest in existing areas of the university and to add new programs, but he has yet to formally name any of those areas of investment or new programs. It is also observed that the President has so far not publicly stated who will make the decisions regarding those areas of investment and new programs.
The resolution then goes on to discuss the administrative and athletic aspects of the institutional realignment plan. After quoting the President’s statement that those aspects of the plan “were considered from the beginning of the process,†the resolution explains the faculty’s present relationship to the administrative and athletic parts of the institutional realignment plan:
The faculty has received no data or information regarding how those areas were evaluated.
The “Realignment†section of the university’s website publicly offers historical data on the faculty, but provides no such data on the Administration or Athletics. Indeed, at this time, the President has yet to even confirm whether or not he has received the analysis of the Athletics program that he requested from BKD.
The resolution continues by noting the faculty has a right to “involvement in the non-academic parts of the institutional realignment plan†because this is an aspect of shared governance. This idea is supported by a quote from the AAUP’s “Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities,†a document that was endorsed by the President and the Chair of the Board of Trustees in their August 26th letter to the faculty:
The allocation of resources among competing demands is central in the formal responsibility of the governing board, in the administrative authority of the president, and in the educational function of the faculty. Each component should therefore have a voice in the determination of short- and long-range priorities, and each should receive appropriate analyses of past budgetary experience, reports on current budgets and expenditures, and short- and long-range budgetary projections.
As the resolution observes, “when institutional budgetary decisions are made, the faculty is entitled to a voice in those determinations and to a number of different forms of data.†Therefore, “it is necessary for the faculty to be involved in all the budgetary decisions within the construction of the institutional realignment plan.â€
The resolution concludes by asking the President to offer written responses to twelve questions:
1. Why did the Senior Administrative Team publicly release an incomplete draft academic realignment plan that contains only proposed deletions and lacks any proposed additions?
2. What is the timeline for the proposed investments in existing programs and additions of new programs?
3. Who will make decisions regarding the proposed investments in existing programs and additions of new programs?
4. Will these program additions follow the procedure for “Curriculum Changes†outlined on p.219 of the Faculty Manual?
5. Will the faculty, the Senate or any committee thereof vote on the final complete academic realignment plan?
6. Did the Senior Administrative Team complete a full institutional review before the release of the draft academic realignment plan?
7. Why did the Senior Administrative Team not design its evaluation and decision-making processes to enable complete draft realignment plans for all areas to be released at the same time?
8. What is the timeline for the construction of the institutional realignment plan?
9. What criteria were used in the evaluations of the Administration and Athletics?
10. Will any of the data used within the evaluations of the Administration and Athletics be released to the faculty or made public?
11. How will the faculty be involved in the construction of the sections of the institutionalrealignment plan that relate to the Administration and Athletics?
12. Will the faculty, the Senate or any committee thereof vote on the final complete institutional realignment plan?
We, the UE chapter of the AAUP, are delighted that the faculty has supported this resolution. Despite the President’s Wednesday e-mail to the faculty regarding his draft academic realignment plan, much remains unclear regarding the larger institutional alignment process. The questions in the endorsed resolution need to be answered as fully and as quickly as possible so that everyone has a clear sense of the path that lies ahead. We sincerely hope that the President recognizes and responds to this need.
To learn more:
• Visit our website at saveue.com • Follow us on Facebook at Save UE
• Follow us on Twitter at @Save_UE • Follow us on Instagram at save.ue
• E-mail us at ueaaup@gmail.com
$5.1 Million of $6 Million Goal Secured
Evansville, IN: The COVID-19 Crisis Response Fund of the Greater Evansville Region is asking community members to “Do What You Can†once again to provide crucial assistance as the pandemic persists.
More than $2.6 million of the $5.1 million raised has been distributed to dozens of local nonprofits serving immediate needs as it relates to the crisis. These funds have been used for emergency financial assistance, shelter, personal protective equipment, technology, and other critical necessities.
As the pandemic lingers, the Fund seeks to move further into the phases of recovery and restoration. Continued support is vital to getting our neighbors back to work, helping our small nonprofits survive, and building a more resilient future for the Greater Evansville region.
In addition to immediate relief, the fund will support:
All,
For the past few weeks, members of the Administrative Team and the Location Managers have been discussing how and when EVPL would resume “in-person†services. It was decided to resume our in-person services beginning Monday, February 15.
All EVPL locations will be open 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday – Friday, and 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Saturdays. All other EVPL services (EVPL to Go, Book a Librarian and etc.) will continue 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
These conversations were not easy, and as to be expected were often difficult. Trying to pick the “perfect time†to resume our in-person services, knowing that there are still varying levels of apprehension among our EVPL staff made this decision very difficult. Unfortunately, with this disease, the pandemic and nature of our chosen profession, there will never be a perfect time.
Our jobs require us to work with the public, and often times to set the example of how to operate in these difficult times. As I have said before your altruism, dedication, and caring are what make our profession and EVPL so unique.
Most scientists feel COVID-19, in some form, will be here for some time. They also feel we can resume some functions of our daily life, as long as we are careful, and take the necessary precautions. Please remember how important it is to wear face coverings, use hand sanitizer, and continue to follow social distancing guidelines.
In the past two weeks we have seen the number of COVID-19 infections within Vanderburgh County go down significantly. For the first time in almost two months, Vanderburgh County’s seven day positivity rate had gone below 10%. We have not seen this figure this low since before the Thanksgiving Holiday break.
We appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep your coworkers and the public as safe as we can.
Scott Kinney
CEO-Director Of the Evansville/Vanderburgh Public Libraries
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball will emerge from its January quarantine to face a newly revised February schedule as it races toward the end of the 2020-21 regular season. The Screaming Eagles will be scheduled to play six of its final 10 games at Screaming Eagles Arena.
The Eagles (7-3) revised schedule begins next week on the road when their visit to William Jewell College has been moved from February 4 to February 5 (Friday) with a new start time of 6 p.m. The movement of the USI-WJC game to Friday also pushed the start of the Eagles game at Rockhurst University February 6 to 4 p.m.
USI also announced the rescheduling of three of the four games postponed due quarantine. Thursday’s USI-Quincy University showdown has been re-scheduled for February 10 at 3 p.m., while Saturday’s USI-Truman State University contest will be played February 15 at 3 p.m.
The Eagles’ game versus the University of Illinois Springfield, which had been rescheduled from December 3 to February 2, is being moved to February 23 at 5 p.m. The USI-Lewis University home game and the USI-McKendree University road game remains postponed indefinitely.
      The completely updated USI Men’s Basketball schedule in February is:
| Date | Time | H/A | Opponent | Location |
| February 4, 2021 (Thursday) | 6 p.m. | Away | William Jewell (Mo.) | Liberty, MO |
| February 6, 2021 (Saturday) | 4 p.m. | Away | Rockhurst | Kansas City, MO |
| February 10, 2021 (Wednesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Quincy | Evansville, IN |
| February 13, 2021 (Saturday) | 3:15 p.m. | Home | Drury | Evansville, IN |
| February 15, 2021 (Monday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Truman State | Evansville, IN |
| February 18, 2021 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Away | Missouri Science & Technology | Rolla, MO |
| February 20, 2021 (Saturday) | 3:15 p.m. | Away | Maryville | St. Louis, MO |
| February 23, 2021 (Tuesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Illinois Springfield | Evansville, IN |
| February 25, 2021 (Thursday) | 7:30 p.m. | Home | Lindenwood | Evansville, IN |
| February 27, 2021 (Saturday) | 3:15 p.m. | Home | Missouri – St. Louis | Evansville, IN |
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Louis is a 4-year-old male Beagle! He weighs 24 lbs. He gets along great with other dogs. His adoption fee is $150 and includes his neuter, microchip, vaccines, and heartworm treatment (he is currently positive.) Contact Vanderburgh Humane atwww.vhslifesaver.org/adopt for details!
BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MEETING
KEVIN WINTERNHEIMER CHAMBERS
ROOM 301, CIVIC CENTER COMPLEX
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2021
12:00 NOON
AGENDA
1.   CALL TO ORDER
2.   MEETING MEMORANDUM  JANUARY 20, 2021
3.   CONSENT AGENDA                        Â
    N/A  Â
4.   OLD BUSINESSÂ
     N/A
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5. Â Â Â NEW BUSINESS Â
     a. Request Re: Any Other Business the Board Wishes to Consider and Public Comments
6.    REPORTS
      a. Brian Holtz- Executive Director    Â
      Â
7.    ACCEPTANCE OF PAYROLL AND VENDOR CLAIMS
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8.    ADJOURN
