The Urbana-Champaign Senate met this afternoon to discuss parking issues on campus and approval of nominations to committees.

Before the formal agenda began, however, Nicholas Burbules, chair of the Senate’s executive committee, made an announcement about the Academy for Capitalism and Limited Government Fund.

“The campus and the donors for the Academy for Capitalism and Limited Government Fund have agreed to dissolve the agreement with the University of Illinois Foundation,” Burbeles said.

He said the issue with this proposed academy was not that capitalism should not be discussed on campus, but that a donor group should not be able to determine the specific use of its funds.

“The faculty obviously had a problem with what they thought someone was trying to direct, I think even down to what was taught at the academy,” said Joe Goldberg, professor of medicine.

Burbules said this decision resulted from private discussions between Chancellor Richard Herman and the donor group. Plans for the academy can still continue as a private entity separate from the University.

“I think this is the right outcome reached in the right way,” Burbules said. “It could have went wrong because it is politically charged.”

Many senators also focused their attention on a new development relating to the political ethics policy during the meeting.

Burbules read an e-mail from University President B. Joseph White clarifying that the earlier ethics newsletter was not a statement of University policy, but a reminder of state law.

The group later approved nominations of student and faculty members to committees and a change to the by-laws giving the Senate’s public engagement committee the duty of working with the new chancellor’s office for Institutional Advancement.