Trustees approve deal with Trammell Crow

Council's recommendation against outsourcing did not sway Trustees' decision to OK the agreement. University Council's recommendation that University Trustees reject the decision to outsource facilities management to the Trammell Crow Co. failed to sway the final decision, as Trustees voted unanimously to approve the deal Friday. At a rare special session last Wednesday, Council members passed a resolution by at least a three-to-one margin asking the Board of Trustees to reject the deal. "I think that the purpose of the resolution by those who proposed it was to send a message to the Trustees -- which I'm sure they heard," University Council Steering Committee Chairperson Vivian Seltzer said. "But clearly it did not have the impact the people who voted for the proposition had hoped it would have," she added. About 50 members -- more than half of Council -- and 60 non-members attended the special session. The large showing underscored the importance of the issue to members of the University community. But because a vote on the deal was already on the agenda for the Trustees meetings, many Council members believed the session was held too late to change the outcome of the Trustees' decision. Once items appear on the Trustees meetings agenda, they are usually "pro forma [basically a formality]," Jason Horger in the University Secretary's office said last week. Instead, the meeting focused on changing the way similar situations are handled in the future, Council Steering Committee member and Communications Professor Larry Gross said. "The real point is to set the tone for the next kind of major decisions -- this one was too far along to make a difference," Gross said. "This had to do with the conduct of future discussions and future considerations in terms of the consultative process." "The earlier Council gets involved, the more it can have an effect," he added. "In this case, constituencies that are represented in University Council were not given adequate time to consider these issues." University administrators have come under fire recently for their tight-lipped negotiations before the October 8 announcement of the decision to outsource facilities management to the company. Various groups have expressed concern that future outsourcing of University divisions such as Dining Services might be handled just as secretively. The Council meeting gave student groups and other concerned members of the University community a chance to express concern about the University's handling of the negotiations. Council voted to form a committee dedicated to examining "the problems that have been raised about the consultative process." Discussion in upcoming Council meetings will determine the structure of this committee, said Seltzer, who also chairs the Faculty Senate. Because it is rare for the Trustees to vote against proposals by the administration, Council members hope this direct appeal to the administration will allow them more influence in future outsourcing decisions. Gross added that Council's appeal last week to the Trustees to intervene in "internal University discussions" might not be the most effective way for the advisory body to function. "In many cases, it's important for the Trustees to be prevented from intervening -- these are matters that should be discussed widely but internally," he said.

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