The University’s top governing body, the Cornell Board of Trustees, convened in Ithaca Thursday, Friday and Saturday for its quarterly meeting. Although it has been a tumultuous year for Cornell, the Board issued no major public announcements. Rather, it discussed and approved a wide range of items.

In the open session of a committee meeting, the Board approved the University’s extensive Climate Action Plan, which was unveiled last month and focuses on a range issues: green development, energy conservation, alternative transportation, renewable energy and carbon offsetting actions. The ultimate goal is to make Cornell carbon neutral by 2050.

In the Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, the Board approved the 2008-2009 financial report during the closed session, which illustrated the University’s financial stress due to the recession.

“All the major indicators are [currently] pointing in the positive direction,” President David Skorton said during the open session of the Board meeting. “[We] stepped up quicker than peer institutions.”

The University reported that it had employed a new auditor of its finances. Cornell switched from KPMG to PricewaterHouseCoopers this year due to PWC’s “stronger expertise” and “more thorough” analysis, said Joanne DeStefano, vice president for finance and chief financial officer, at the meeting.

Looking ahead: President David J. Skorton presents the annual State of the University Address in Statler Auditorium last Friday.

According to the report approved by the Board, Cornell’s net assets plummeted by approximately $2 billion, from $8.04 billion to $6.07 billion. Even so, more than half of Cornell’s asset decrease was due to losses in investment, which fell from $6.55 billion in 2008 to $5.07 billion in 2009. Student loans granted declined from $13.7 million to $7.39 million and deferred benefits dropped from $34 million to negative $61,000.

Bonds and notes payable increased from $999 million to $1.705 billion, partially due to the $500 million bond purchase this spring.

In a closed session, the Board of Trustee’s Building and Properties Committee discussed a College of Veterinary Medicine initiative to establish a “satellite specialty referral and 24-hour emergency veterinary practice” in Norwalk, Conn. by Dec. 2010, according to the committee’s agenda. It would cost the University approximately $3.5 million to lease the space and an approximately $6 million in capital investment.

The Building Committee also received and approved a status report outlining the ongoing construction projects at Cornell.

According to the report, the Johnson Museum construction was minimally impacted by the recent discover of about 30 pounds of mercury located under the excavation site, but disposal of the material will require an additional $1.8 million of University funds.

Although construction is currently slightly behind schedule for the new physical sciences facility, the University is confident that the building’s basement, ground floor and first floor teaching labs will be ready for occupancy next July as planned, the report states.

The University’s plans to renovate the Olin Library stacks have been canceled, according to the report. Instead, a $12 million Olin Library renovation project will exclusively center on improving the building’s fire detection and suppression system in order to meet governmental regulations and standards.

“This revised project is focused on obtaining a Certificate of Legal Occupancy for the entire building as quickly as possible,” the report states. Construction is expected by Aug. 2011.

The Board of Trustee’s Committee on Academic Affairs approved a Master of Professional Studies Degree program in information science, which has been in planning for a couple of years.

The committee also met in closed session to discuss five of the "Reimaging Cornell" task force reports: AAP; CALS; Library; Management Sciences; and Social Sciences.