Immunogenomics combines the fields of immunology (study of the immune system) and genomics (study of the genetic changes in cancer). According to the proposal submitted for approval, researchers are just now uncovering the extent of immunogenetic diversity among human populations. Genetic diversity in immune genes significantly impacts individual immune responses, with critical implications for how people develop and administer novel vaccines and therapeutics, as well as characterize complex and dynamic immune responses in infection, autoimmune disease and cancer.

School of Medicine Interim Dean Jeffrey Bumpous said that the university is well-prepared to support this research with equipment that other research institutes do not have, and the new endowment will accelerate efforts to understand the rapidly expanding field of immunogenomics.

Funding for the endowment comes from the estate of Carolyn S. Browning ($934,498.15) and the estate of Clifford Ernst ($65,501.85). UofL will request the gifts be matched by a contribution of $1 million from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund, resulting in a total contribution of $2 million.

Browning, the endowment’s namesake, was a longtime Louisville resident, teaching music and Spanish for more than 30 years. Her husband, Harold Alonzo Browning, Jr., was a city editor for the Louisville Times. The Browning estate has provided gifts to other medical schools as well as the American Diabetes Association, memorial Sloan Kettering and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

Chief of Police Gary Lewis provided senators an overview of the current state of campus security. Lewis reported that the number of security cameras across UofL has nearly doubled over the past year. In addition to the increase in number, many of the new cameras are more advanced and offer a wider range of visual coverage. Lewis also informed senators of the continuing effort to standardize access control among all university campuses.

“On Belknap campus, only about 60% of the campus is access controlled. Health Sciences Campus is 100% access controlled. We’re improving some technologies [on Belknap] so that card readers will be able to provide you with the ability to gain access entry into all buildings,” Lewis stated. “Our goal is 100% access control on Belknap campus similar to HSC.”

Senators were also introduced to Kari Aikins, the recently appointed director of Total Rewards. Mary Elizabeth Miles, VP of Human Resources, informed senators that Total Rewards encompasses retirement, compensation and benefits. Aikins will also serve as co-chair for

Keith Sherman, chief operating officer and executive director of the , provided senators with an overview of the foundation’s record-setting portfolio. The UofL Foundation and the UofL Real Estate Foundation boasted combined Total Assets of just over $1.3 billion, the highest in the history of both foundations. Total Endowment Assets also reached an all-time high at $922 million. The main endowment pool, which serves as the source of nearly all available endowment funding across the university, also reached a record $817 million as of July 12.

Sherman stated, “We saw 33% returns in the stock market through May; for perspective, our goal is 6.2% a year. Over the last year, we’ve returned five times what we expect to get in the marketplace, which is unbelievable. That 33% return for an endowment will probably put us in the top 10% of all endowments across the country.”

Sherman credited the overwhelming growth of the main endowment pool to several changes made by the foundation over the past year.

“We made a lot of changes this year. We changed investment advisors, we changed our investment strategy, we simplified things and sometimes it is just important to be good as well as lucky. We made some good, thoughtful decisions and when the market went crazy after the COVID-19 drop last March, we were perfectly positioned to maximize our returns,” Sherman said.

Committee reports and a of the virtual meeting can be found on the .

The Staff Senate will not meet during the month of August in order to provide orientation for the 21 first-time Staff Senate representatives. The next Staff Senate meeting is scheduled for Sept. 8 via a hybrid format with the option of remote attendance via Teams, or in-person attendance at Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium.

Lewis answered questions about the incident for about 10 minutes after a staff senator at the meeting in Chao Auditorium texted him that senators were expressing their concerns about public safety on campus.

The chief said the message appeared on all university telephones in the late afternoon because of an IT error and had not originated with ULPD. ULPD was quickly alerted to the problem and, after confirming no threat existed, sent a text message via the RAVE warning system that the telephone message was sent in error.

Lewis said the evacuation message appeared to have originated from a campus telephone and IT was investigating the incident.

He added that ULPD was planning to hold a tabletop exercise with senior leadership to address public safety in an emergency.    

Staff senators were also given an update on the state of the UofL Foundation’s investments by Keith Sherman, the foundation’s executive director and COO. Sherman used a PowerPoint, “Reforms Pave Way for a Sustainable Future,” to show how changes made since 2017 are helping to restore the university’s endowment after years of poor management.

He said the university’s endowment as of Dec. 31, 2019, totaled $637 million. Stricter spending rules have been imposed that will gradually replenish the endowment, he said.

“We don’t overspend,” Sherman said.

Sherman pointed out that the foundation is not responsible for fundraising – that falls to University Advancement – but noted that donors who had stopped honoring pledges are once again making payments. “Donors are getting more comfortable and realizing it really is a new day,” he said.

Staff Senate President John Smith said during his report that the Board of Trustees had approved new bylaws giving the university president veto power over the UofL Athletic Association board. The move will “give us a lot more institutional control,” Smith said.

The Bylaw Revision Committee presented its first reading and received comments.

Christopher Tillquist, anthropology associate professor, reported that Faculty Senate is looking into the issue of free speech on campus. He encouraged staff senators to read the university’s policy on speech and literature distribution, last revised in 2011.

More committee reports are . The next Staff Senate meeting is March 9 on the HSC campus.