The University Board of Trustees approved budget requests Thursday that, if granted by Illinois’ state legislature and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, could add 100 new full-time faculty, 150 teaching assistants and 500 new course sections by 2011.

Stephen Rugg, the comptroller and vice president for administration, outlined a request plan which asks the state for an additional $83.7 million, a 7 percent increase over the current year’s operating budget. Nearly 75 percent of the extra money would be allocated to instructional needs such as faculty raises and the creation of new faculty positions, Rugg’s report said.

“Instructional funds rely heavily upon state funding,” Rugg said.

The University Audits report showed that about 90 percent of instructional funding in 2004 came from state grants and tuition payments. Other major funding sources such as federal and private sector grants are often restricted to research expenditures.

Several trustees voiced concern over the dire consequences in the event that the requested increase is denied.

“If we can’t compete for top quality professors and begin to lose them, we could really hurt the University,” Trustee Robert Sperling said.

State funding has flattened in recent years and even suffered a 1.1 percent drop over the previous fiscal year, according the official budget summary for the 2006 fiscal year.

Chancellor Richard Herman said that the university has managed to retain its faculty thus far but warned that there is a greater danger in a high faculty-to-student ratio. The budget request aims to reduce the current ratio of 21.3 students per faculty member down to 18.4 in five years. Peers such as the University of Michigan and Northwestern University have ratios of 15.8 and 13.5 respectively, according to the report.

The 12-member board approved contracts for capital projects, including the installation of sprinkler systems in the Main and Undergraduate libraries, development plans for Memorial Stadium and a proposed conference center and the construction of a new business school facility.

The conference center project will help make the Urbana-Champaign campus a “destination,” Chancellor Herman said.

“Currently, we do not have the facilities to host a conference of 500 people,” Herman said.

The University has not even bothered to bid to be the site of annual meetings of professional associations such as the American Chemical Society, Herman said.

The development plans have excited surrounding communities because of the new business a conference center on the South campus promises bring in.

“The city of Champaign has pledged to contribute $3 million to the project,” Herman announced.

Student trustee Nick Klitzing applauded the construction of a new instructional facility for the college of business. Klitzing, a junior in LAS, said that he first heard of the plans while taking business management classes.

“I found out that talk about a new facility has been in the works since 1985,” Klitzing said. “It’s exciting to see this finally come to fruition.”

Before the board discussed any of the items on its agenda, it was addressed by five members of the community. Every member had anti-Chief Illiniwek comments.

Bess Van Asselt, a sophomore in LAS, argued that the divide over the Chief creates a hostile atmosphere on campus. Van Asselt told the board that Chief supporters in her dorm harassed her so severely that she broke her housing contract and moved out.

Van Asselt also referred to an insert in the Daily Illini yesterday as evidence of the campus’ hostility. The insert mocked former Chancellor Nancy Cantor who is known for her vocal opposition to the Chief. According to DI Editor in Chief Kiyoshi Martinez, Oskee is an independent, paid publication which was inserted on Friday, Sept. 2 and Thursday, Sept. 8.

Van Asselt and Jennifer Tayabji, both members of the Progressive Resource Action Cooperative, commended the NCAA for its recent pressure on the University.

On Aug. 5, the NCAA changed its policy and barred member institutions with “hostile and abusive” American Indian mascots, logos and nicknames from hosting championship events and displaying that imagery in post-season play.

On Aug. 12, a rebuttal letter from Board chairman Lawrence Eppley was published in USA Today. Eppley’s letter characterized the NCAA’s move as a “hostile and abusive edict” and questioned its authority.

Roger Huddleston, president of the Honor the Chief Society, was in attendance, although he chose not to participate in the public commentary session. Huddleston, who has regularly spoken at the bimonthly board meetings, said that he elected not to comment this time as a gesture of respect to the University’s attempt at obtaining a consensus on the Chief issue.

At the last board meeting in July, the board agreed on a seven-point resolution designed to form a consensus about some kind of decisive action. An eighth point, which affirmed the right of student-athletes to compete at the highest levels, was added to Thursday’s agenda.