Representative’s Renderings by Lewis Godwin

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Does your institution need a refresher in strategic planning? Then invite the SCUP Planning Institute to your campus and experience an integrated interactive approach to planning designed with your campus in mind. Workshops have been given in Wisconsin, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Two institutions in the Southern Region, Texas A&M University at Kingsville and Northeastern State University in Oklahoma, have already hosted the SCUP Planning Institute. If you are interested in learning more about the SCUP Planning Institute, visit the SCUP Planning Institute webpage.

Although the Southern Region is hosting very successful regional conferences and one-day symposiums, we may not be reaching you. If you have ideas about bringing these learning and networking opportunities closer to you, whether through state and/or local events, please send your ideas to any of the council members.

VOLUNTEER REPORT

Lily Berrios, Regional Volunteer Coordinator – lilyb@sizemoregroup.com

Interested in being more involved with SCUP? Volunteering is a great way to learn more about SCUP, network with fellow SCUPers, and have fun. We have a broad range of volunteering opportunities.

Starting with our one-day events, you may help at the registration desk, setting-up, assembling packets, welcoming people, talking about the event before-during-and-after on social media, and photography.

There are additional tasks related to our regional conference or the annual, international conference. Those include writing tip sheets on local restaurants and alternative lodging, hosting dine-around, taking notes at roundtables reviewing session proposals, convening sessions or presenting sessions.

You may also grow into a leadership position on our Southern Regional Council, on national standing committees, academies, contributing to publications by authoring or reviewing articles, or being on the SCUP Board of Directors.

So get involved! Send me an email today at lilyb@sizemoregroup.com and fill a Volunteer Application form on the SCUP website.

AWARDS REPORT

Howard Wertheimer, Regional Awards Coordinator - howard.wertheimer@spaceplan.gatech.edu

SCUP offers an awards program that recognizes excellence in planning, design and implementation efforts of firms and institutions, as well as the achievements of individuals whose lives and passions involve higher education. The time has passed for entries for this year, but it is not too early to begin planning for your entries for 2013.

For more information visit the awards page.

NEWS FROM STATE AND AREA COMMUNICATION COORDINATORS

Please note that at http://pnr.scup.org, you can filter SCUP's Planning News & Resources mini-blog to view only news from your Southern region. You can also suggest news. Please do so.

ALABAMA

Need Volunteer!

ARKANSAS

Need Volunteer!

FLORIDA

Need Volunteer!

A dramatically futuristic building with louvers that can follow the sun is under construction on the site of the future Florida Polytechnic University. The building, which is designed by Santiago Calatrava, was started in March and should be complete in approximately 20 months. This building will serve as the focal point of the new university.

Plans for the building began approximately 9 months ago after Calatrava was selected for the project. The budget for the project is approximately $98 million, and the budget includes all infrastructure costs associated with the building.

LOUISIANA

Nate Walker, walker@hms-pa.com

Possible cuts to higher education could be devastating
BATON ROUGE- Sweeping cuts could be made to higher education if Senators don't take action. State education leaders spent the weekend crunching numbers after the House passed HB One Friday and sent it to the Senate. The budget that the Senate will now take up shaves $225 million dollars from higher education. The reason why there is such a concern about possible cuts is because the budget was approved by the House without using one time money. That money has been used in years past to plug holes in the higher education budget.

Here's a breakdown of how much the impact would be on each system:
LSU - $102,791,581
UL- $107,426,599
SU- $19,901,506

In some cases, entire programs could be no more as System Presidents are forced to implement the cuts as the new fiscal year begins in July.The budget would have to be approved by the Senate before it is implemented. Louisiana state senators suggested Friday that they'll restore some money stripped by House Republicans from next year's more than $25 billion operating budget and seek to lessen cuts to colleges and health programs.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee told higher education and health care leaders they don't support the spending recommendations backed by the House for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Conservative House Republicans successfully stripped the one-time money from next year's budget bill, arguing it was irresponsible to spend cash that is uncertain to appear year after year on continuing programs and services.

Plans For LSU-S Louisiana Tech Merger Have Been Scrapped
Two north Louisiana lawmakers are scrapping their attempt to make LSU's Shreveport campus a branch of Louisiana Tech University. Reps. Thomas Carmody and Jim Fannin say they don't have the two-thirds support to get the merger proposal through the Louisiana House, so they agreed to shelve the idea Tuesday without a vote. The merger idea faced opposition from LSU System leaders, but support from the Board of Regents that oversees public higher education across the state. The two campuses are 70 miles apart.

Supporters said the consolidation would improve education in northwest Louisiana. It was suggested by a higher education consultant hired by Shreveport-Bossier City area business leaders seeking to expand educational opportunities in the state's third largest metropolitan area. Opponents said LSU-Shreveport needs more resources, not a governance change.

LSU board fires system president John Lombardi
A divided Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors voted 12-4 to fire system President John Lombardi and began a nationwide search for his replacement. Board Chairman Garrett "Hank" Danos of Larose said that Lombardi, hired in 2007, has not provided the leadership the state's premier university needs to progress. The vote ended a rocky tenure that included fights over funding and issues related to the new medical center in New Orleans.

Critics said that Lombardi's brusque management style and outspoken nature often worked against him when dealing with chancellors in the LSU system as well as legislators and the governor's office.

Lombardi defenders said that he is well-versed on the issues that LSU has to address. "He knows the issues; he doesn't play politics with the issues," said Laura Leach, a longtime board member from Lake Charles whose term expires June 1. When the debate ended, eight of the appointees named by Gov. Bobby Jindal and four others voted to fire Lombardi, whose contract expires in January.

The board voted to rehire former LSU President William Jenkins on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found. His appointment letter calls for him to remain a faculty member at his base university salary of $450,000 if he is removed from his administrative appointment. The board's action placed Lombardi on "administrative leave" at full pay through Jan. 1.

University of Louisiana to End Remedial Classes
In an effort to boost admission standards at University of Louisiana, the university is no longer accepting students who need remedial classes. That means starting this fall, freshmen who need extra help must go to another college first. University officials say enrollment numbers will drop but they are not worried.

Fewer students means less tuition money coming in initially. They estimate about 600 to 800 fewer students will enroll. But officials say they aren't concerned about the effects long-term. The university expects to see a smaller incoming class, but thinks better-prepared students will benefit the university as a whole.

Technical college campuses could merge with Delta
BATON ROUGE – Merging the Northeast Louisiana Technical College campuses with Louisiana Delta Community College would provide a better learning experience for students and make for a more efficient operation, community and technical college officials said Thursday.

The Senate Education Committee unanimously approved SB645 by Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, which merges the Bastrop, Delta-Ouachita, North Central, Northeast Louisiana, Ruston and Tallulah technical college campuses with Delta. Campus representatives expressed support for the legislation.

The bill also transfers all funds, obligations, property, programs, facilities and functions of the technical college campuses to Delta effective July 1 and makes each technical college campus a part of the community college.

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi State's work to achieve a "greener" campus, as well as efforts of the university's sustainability coordinator, are being recognized by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Jeremiah Dumas recently was named a "Campus Sustainability Pioneer" by TVA and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

Students of the MSU sustainable organization submitted Dumas’ nomination for the work he has accomplished on the campus. Dumas, who is an assistant research professor, leads the University’s sustainable initiatives.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Jennifer Pearch Aldrich, pearchj@musc.edu

University of South Carolina: New Chancellor at USC Aiken – Sandra J. Jordan, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Georgia College & State University, has been named chancellor of the University of South Carolina Aiken.

USC Libraries' Bill Sudduth and his colleagues have created a program that recently won the 2012 ProQuest/GODORT/ALA Documents to the People Award. The Collaborative Federal Depository Program (CFDP), part of the Association of Southeast Research Libraries (ASERL), develops and preserves comprehensive collections of government documents on a multi-state level. USC Libraries is part of ASERL. The CFDP idea was originally conceived in 2007 and awarded an IMLS National Leadership Grant for Libraries in September 2009. The program is designed to transform federal depository library collections from general undefined and mostly un-cataloged collections into “centers of excellence” that focus services on a specific federal agency or topic.

“There is an assumption that there's a complete collection of government publications distributed by every agency in all libraries, and that’s not the case,” said Sudduth, head of Government, Information, Microforms and Newspapers, located on Level 5 in Thomas Cooper Library. “Federal depository libraries simply cannot house such a complete collection, primarily because they face pressures including space issues for expanding user services, the realization that over 90 percent of current materials are available electronically, and retirements in the government information area are creating a loss of expertise,” Sudduth said. “The goal for this program is for libraries to create a center where they can collect and provide expertise on an agency or subject area, and not have to do it all," he said. "These days, libraries are looking at putting together unique collections that fit their teaching and learning missions. This program saves time and helps the libraries build the collections they want to build.”

The three institutions currently involved in the project are the University of Kentucky, which is collecting Works Progress Administration (WPA) documents; the University of Florida, which has committed to collecting items about the Panama Canal Zone; and USC, which is focusing on the U.S. Department of Education since 1979. “These three libraries provide an excellent model of the possibilities of what issues libraries will face in developing their own centers of excellence,” said Sudduth, who has served on the original ASERL oversight steering committee for the project since its inception. “We have a group of libraries in the Southeast that are also committed to becoming centers in the future.”

Largest Ever Graduating Class at Clemson University – Clemson University’s largest-ever graduating class received degrees in spring Commencement ceremonies at Littlejohn Coliseum this past May. The tally of degrees awarded was 2,841, as 2,242 students completed requirements for bachelor’s degrees, 514 received master’s degrees and 85 earned doctorates. Clemson added a third ceremony this year to accommodate all the graduates and their guests.

Medical University of South Carolina Ranks in U.S. News Media Group’s 2013 Edition of America’s Best Graduate Schools – Eleven MUSC programs were ranked in the top 100 spots for this latest edition of U.S. News Media Group’s America’s Best Graduate Schools. The pharmacy graduate program ranked 26th, marking the school’s continued appearance on the yearly ranking list. MUSC’s College of Nursing remained a top 50 nursing school, and both the institution’s College of Medicine and College of Health Professions demonstrated strong program showings and gains during the previous year. Annually, U.S. News ranks professional-school programs in business, education, engineering, law and medicine. The rankings are based on two types of data: expert opinions about program quality and statistical indicators that measure the quality of a school’s faculty, research and students. These data come from surveys of more than 1,200 programs and some 12,400 academics and professionals that were conducted in the fall of 2010.

OKLAHOMA

Need Volunteer

TENNESSEE

Sean Vasington, svasington@crja.com

The New Norris House, an award-winning home developed by students and faculty of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Homes Platinum Certification. This is the first LEED platinum project for the University of Tennessee System and only the tenth LEED platinum home in Tennessee.

Campus Crest Communities, Inc. a leading developer, builder, owner and manager of purpose-built student housing, announced a partnership with SolarCity, a national leader in clean energy products and services, to install more than 9,000 solar panels on its student housing communities located in Greeley, Colorado, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. Campus Crest Communities, Inc., which operates under the Grove brand, is hoping the project will save them approximately 50% of the energy they purchase.

TEXAS

Carr Hornbuckle, carr@pflugerassociated.com

Joint UT-TAMU System library construction begins soon
Construction on a joint facility near Bryan to preserve library resources of The University of Texas System and Texas A&M University is expected to begin in June. The project recently received approval of a $6.3 million appropriation toward the project. Officials expect the facility to house approximately 1 million books that will be made available to scholars and others making requests.

To be constructed on the TAMU Riverside Campus, the library will include 18,000 square feet. When completed in March of next year, the facility will help relieve some of the space issues of the libraries in the two systems. The new facility was preceded by a joint library storage facility at The University of Texas at Austin's J.J. Pickle Research Campus, where volumes requiring a more structured environmental control are housed. While both systems will share the expense of building the new facility, A&M will provide staffing.

The two systems have had previous success in such partnerships. The two established the Texas Digital Library, an online repository for electronic theses and dissertation. It now includes more than a dozen regional members, among them several schools from both systems.

Sam Houston State University may build new research park
In an effort to spur job growth and new businesses in Huntsville, Sam Houston State University officials recently moved forward with a proposed new 160-acre research park to perform criminal justice and other research activities.

The proposed site for the research park is on SH19 and Ellisor Road, said Al Hooten, vice president of finance and operations for the university. A similar research park operated by Louisiana State University has created about 10,000 jobs in Baton Rouge over the last 25 years, Hooten said.

University officials are working on a master plan for the research center and with a landowner, who has agreed to donate from 60 to 80 acres of land for the center. Construction on the project should begin about six months after the master plan is approved and a traffic study of SH19 is completed, Hooten said. City council members also agreed to apply for an $877,757 grant to pay for extending a 12-inch water line to the research park site, he said.

Chancellor wants to move HSC under control of Texas A&M Saying it would be a "huge boon to the university," Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp confirmed this week in an interview with the Bryan-College Station Eagle that he would like to see the TAMU Health Science Center moved under the control of Texas A&M University. He plans to add discussion of the issue to an August Board of Regents meeting.

Sharp told the The Eagle the absorption of the center's students, faculty, staff and $80 million in externally funded research would increase TAMU's research stature. While TAMU President R. Bowen Loftin and HSC President Dr. Nancy Dickey did not respond to The Eagle's request for an interview, the newspaper reported that Dickey said in an e-mail to HSC employees that HSC is working with Sharp's office to "outline the pros and cons of changing the current structure."

UT regents throw support behind proposed medical school
The University of Texas System Board of Regents this week threw its support - and a pledge of System funds - behind a proposed new medical school that would be part of The University of Texas at Austin. "The founding of a medical school would be an enormous event in the life of the university, would offer dramatic new opportunities for our students and our faculty and would advance health care in Central Texas," said UT President Bill Powers.

The regents pledged to allocate up to $30 million per year from the state's Available University Fund. That funding plus a commitment of $250 million from the Seton Healthcare Family for a new teaching hospital, opens the doors for discussion regarding a site for the school and other issues that would have to be resolved.

The funding is contingent on the continued pledged support of Seton toward a graduate medical education residency plus $35 million in public funds each year. Regents also approved establishment of a medical school in South Texas, but have challenged leaders in the area to raise millions toward such a school. They said they would continue to press the legislature for additional funding as well.

Seton agrees to pay up to $250 million for teaching hospital in Austin
Seton Healthcare Family officials recently agreed to pay up to $250 million toward building and equipping a new teaching hospital in Austin to support a proposed medical school and replace the aging, publicly owned University Medical Center Brackenridge (UMC Brackenridge). Seton operates the UMC Brackenridge facility under a 60-year lease with Central Health, a taxing authority that owns the current hospital.

Plans call for Central Health and the Seton Healthcare Family to negotiate a 100-year lease that will include more taxpayer funding for providing more services such as adding psychiatric beds as well as establishing a medical school to train new physicians under the auspices of The University of Texas at Austin.

The new UMC Brackenridge facility also would continue to provide health care for low-income patients and persons who are traumatically injured. A decision has not been made whether to locate the new hospital at the site of the current hospital at 15th Street and Red River in Austin or relocate the hospital to another site. Current plans are for Seton Healthcare Family to own the hospital and Central Health to own the property on which the hospital is located. The construction phase of the project will take about three years, a Seton official said.

Five liberal arts colleges join Texas Language Consortium
The Texas Language Consortium, a collaboration of five Texas liberal arts colleges, has been organized to allow students more options if they plan to take foreign language classes. The consortium, a pilot program, is under the auspices of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE). NITLE is a nonprofit that seeks to assist liberal arts colleges and universities in the use of both teaching methods and technology to augment undergraduate education while continuing the traditions of liberal arts.

Participants in the pilot program are Schreiner University, Concordia University-Texas, Lubbock Christian University, Texas Lutheran University and Texas Wesleyan University.

The students at these universities can enroll in German, French, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish classes. While the courses are supervised at each student's own campus, their universities will provide courses through video conferencing labs. The classes will be assigned faculty and support staff. Officials are hopeful that the program will both enhance the students' educational experience while offering a cost-effective method of delivery aimed at allowing students to develop competency in other languages.

Design firm chosen for recommendations for A&M's Kyle Field
A sports facility design firm has been chosen by Texas A&M University to come up with design proposals for the university's Kyle Field football stadium. Populous was chosen to lead the study, and to provide plans for a renovated stadium and a new stadium. The design phase will begin immediately, with construction to start after the 2013 football season. Some minor construction could get under way prior to the upcoming season.

M. Scott Taylor, chair of the university's 12th Man Foundation said the university has a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to redevelop the historic field. "Given the magnitude and historic significance of this project, we want to be thoughtful and measured as we move forward," he added.

Among the possibilities of the design are more fixed seating capacity, improving amenities and developing a plan to address safety. While other changes are possible, the university has not ruled out building a new stadium. Officials are hopeful to have study results by September.

UT Dallas, Collin College approve pact to align five study disciplines
Officials of The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) and Collin College recently signed a new agreement to align five disciplines at both schools as part of a five-year, $2.5 million Gateways Collaborative grant from the National Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program. The two institutions of higher learning previously agreed to align courses in engineering and computer technology to ensure students transferring from Collin to UT-Dallas experience a smoother transition.

In the new articulation agreement, the institutions agreed to align geoscience, chemistry, physics, biology and mathematics courses. Administrators and professors from both institutions worked together for two years developing course syllabi, textbooks and instructional methods. The agreement also allows students at Collin College to lock in current tuition fees at UT Dallas prior to enrolling in classes at the four-year university.

Dallas approves spending $25.5 million on Cotton Bowl upgrades
Dallas City Council members have approved an additional $25.5 million in debt for help defray the costs of major upgrades and improvements to the Cotton Bowl. However, that spending is contingent on both The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma signing an extension of the football series that has been part of the Cotton Bowl lore since 1929.

If the upgrades take place, they will include new historically appropriate facades in each end zone, press box renovations, new club seating levels below the current press box, upgrades to concession areas and concourse repairs. Construction could begin in January 2013 if the extension is approved, with completion expected by September. While the city benefits with direct payments of approximately $500,000 each year the longstanding football game is played in the Cotton Bowl, the economic impact on the region is estimated at $34 million.

While there was little opposition to the pledging of the funds, Council member Dwaine Caraway said even that much was not enough, saying, "We're patching it up once again."

$45 million in bonds approved for ACC Kyle campus
The Austin Community College Board of Trustees has approved the issuance of $45 million in bonds to help finance its proposed new campus in Kyle. Officials say $10 million of that will go toward purchase of a 96-acre tract of land for the facility. The college will announce a date for groundbreaking after a contract is negotiated with the college's construction manager. The college will have to create a corporation controlled by the entity to use the bond proceeds as the funds cannot be pledged to a bond issue. The entity will own the campus and lease it to the college for 25 years. Lease payments will retire the debt service on the bonds. After the 25-year term, the college will assume ownership.

Rice University receives $25 million donation for new building
Robert Klein, alumni of Rice University and director of a renewable energy firm, recently contributed $25 million to the university to build a new social sciences building.

The new Robert A. Klein Hall for Social Sciences will be located near the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and the Jesse H. Jones School of Graduate Business and will accommodate most of the university's academic departments, institutes and centers. University officials said plans are still in the design phase and expect to determine soon the date for construction to begin.

UH Regents approve old site for new $105 million football stadium
Regents for the University of Houston recently approved locating a new $105 million football stadium on the current site of Robertson Stadium after briefly considering another site near I-45 and Cullen Blvd. Demolition of Robertson Stadium should begin in December, said Renu Khator, chancellor and president of UH.

The discussion centered on whether the new site was worth an additional $40 million for freeway visibility in addition to the difficulty of expanding the stadium beyond the planned 40,000-seat capacity if the freeway site was selected. Using the current site also will allow the stadium to be opened for the 2014 football season rather than the 2015 season, regents said.

UH students approved a referendum in February for a new student service fee increase to raise an estimated $24 million to help pay for the new stadium. University officials also plan to spend $24 million from the increased student fee to pay for a planned $38 million to $40 million renovation of Hofheinz Pavilion. UH officials expect to select an architect and construction manager for the new football stadium in April.

Three colleges in Dallas County share $5 million for job training
Three colleges in the Dallas County Community College District recently received almost $5 million in state and federal grants to provide training for students at three campuses - Eastfield, Richland and Mountain View.

Eastfield College officials agreed to provide matching funds for a $147,098 grant from the Jobs and Education for Texans program to install a 35-kilowatt wind turbine on its campus in Mesquite. It will be used for training for students for the wind energy industry. Eastfield also received a $97,698 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to train new and existing workers in the career of managing electronic medical records and is working in partnerships with at least eight medical providers for the medical office training.

Richland officials received two grants totaling more than $500,000 to provide training for 600 employees in partnership with a manufacturing group and a physicians group in Garland.

Mountain View College officials won a $202,668 grant from the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association Skills Development Fund of TWC to train 102 students in 14 course studies in a partnership with six private companies. Mountain View officials also received $4 million from the Hispanic Serving Institution and Articulation Program of the U.S. Department of Education to provide training for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

San Jacinto College uses $4.9 million grant for technology training
San Jacinto College officials plan to use a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to implement a job-training program, the Information Technology Training for Tomorrow Project, for students seeking employment in the field of information technology.

The project calls for training students in information technology security, mid-level IT training and IT soft skills training to provide workers trained and certified for those jobs. District officials will work with IBM to develop the new IT security courses to provide students who successfully complete the training to receive certification with national accreditation, college officials said.

UNT-Dallas law school awaiting appropriation for construction
Pending an appropriation from the Texas Legislature, construction on the University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law facility could start in 2014. No price tag has been listed for the facility, which will be a conversion of the old Dallas City Hall building on S. Harwood, but the last legislative appropriations request when the legislature met nearly two years ago was $46 million.

If that funding is made available, officials say the design of the law school would likely begin in fall 2013, with construction in 2014 and 2015 and an opening date hoped for in fall 2015. Officials expect an initial class of 95-100 students.

The UNT-Dallas College of Law will be the only public law school in North Texas, and is expected to attract a high percentage of minority students. A bill authorizing the law school was signed in 2009. U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson will serve as founding dean of the law school.

New $85 million science building in future for UT-Dallas
Following the recent approval by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, The University of Texas at Dallas is making preparations to begin planning its new $85 million science building. The new building will be partnered with UTD's Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratory, which was completed in 2006.

The new facility is expected to facilitate nearly 50 new faculty members and 1,720 more students.

The facility will be paid for with $72.25 million from the state's Permanent University Fund bond. The university will make up the difference, including $4 million saved from other projects and $8.75 million to be borrowed. Officials are hopeful for occupancy of the building in fall 2016.

Tarleton State, TEEX approve cooperative agreement
Tarleton State University and Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) officials recently approved an agreement in which TEEX credits can be applied toward certain degrees at Tarleton.

A member of the Texas A&M University System, TEEX is one of the largest providers of workforce training in the United States by offering courses and certification in emergency response and preparedness; fire safety; public safety and security; public works and infrastructure; and urban search and rescue.

The agreement provides an opportunity for TEEX students to complete a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences and a Bachelor of Science Applied Science degree at Tarleton State at much less cost and in a timely manner, said Dr. George Mollick of Tarleton's Department of Engineering Technology. The recent expansion of online degree courses will allow students living in other areas to complete a degree without leaving a job or a community, he said.

Texas A&M may hire public company to manage golf course
Texas A&M University officials recently began talks with a private company to upgrade and manage an 18-hole golf course currently managed by the university.

The golf course, which serves faculty and students, has lost $600,000 in the last four years and is in need of renovation to the clubhouse and course, a spokesman for A&M said. While no contract has been finalized, work on improving the grass and irrigation system at the golf course could begin as early as this summer, the spokesman said.

Sharp would outsource dining services, facilities services
Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp plans to seek requests for proposals aimed at the possibility of outsourcing Texas A&M's facilities services and dining services.

Sharp noted that the university's dining service has been losing $1 million per year. He tried to allay fears of food service employees by saying that most of them likely would stay on as their jobs would be absorbed by the private sector firm that won the contract. Regarding facilities services, which includes facility and grounds maintenance, renovation, cleaning and utilities, Sharp said large maintenance companies have increased buying power and can purchase maintenance supplies at a much cheaper price than the university.

The chancellor added that one of the main considerations of outsourcing any services will be improved efficiency and revenue, while ensuring that current employees who would ultimately be hired by the private sector firm get good deals and that their retirement benefits are maintained.

TAMU-San Antonio earns national security designation The National Security Agency (NSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have designated The University of Texas at San Antonio as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. The designation is a result of the university's commitment to educating trained professionals who are skilled in cyber security and information assurance.

The designation was aided by the university's Center for Information Technology and Cyber Security. The program was hailed for its community outreach and a depth of courses for students. The national recognition addresses the importance of higher education's role in defending the nation's cyberspace.

TAMU-San Antonio President Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier said the designation "opens even more doors" for the university to help meet the needs of San Antonio's growing cyber security fields. "This is something that will make an impact on many lives," she said.

TAMU-San Antonio will build nation's first veterans' facility New space will transition veterans to higher education, civilian workforce

The first of its kind in the country collegiate building dedicated to the military student community is in the works for Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The 20,000-gross-square-foot building was one of two approved recently by the TAMU System Board of Regents. The veterans building - Patriot's Casa - will provide a space to guide veterans, who represent more than 11 percent of the university's student population, and their families through the transition from military life to higher education and into the civilian workforce.

The second building approved was a 170,750-gross-square-foot academic building. The Central Academic Building will offer multiple floors of classrooms, lecture halls and an auditorium. There will be space for various student services, student lounge areas and an "Opportunity Mall/Hall" for events and club activities.

Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, president of Texas A&M-San Antonio, said the university is the fastest-growing campus in the TAMU System. "We are excited to provide a place for learning and engagement that will continue to reflect the culture, diversity and historic architecture of San Antonio in these new, iconic facilities," she said. The Kell Munoz architectural firm will design the buildings and Bartlett Cocke General Contractors will serve as construction manager-at-risk.

New oral health care center approved for UTHSC-SA
A $95 million oral health care center has been approved for The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. UT System Regents approved the project this month. It will be located adjacent to the university's Medical Arts and Research Center (MARC).

Officials at UTHSCSA noted the facility will help improve dental education and training and enable the Dental School to sustain its top-tier ranking. The new facility will be named the Center for Oral Health Care at the MARC. The building is expected to be approximately 172,000 gross square feet on four levels and a 450-car parking garage. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

Grayson College approves plan to expand campus in Van Alstyne
Officials of Grayson College recently approved a preliminary plan to expand its south campus in Van Alstyne. A still unused $2 million federal grant the college received in 2009 has a requirement that it must be used at a campus other than the main campus, Alan Schelbmeir, president, told trustees. This leaves only the south campus in Van Alstyne for the expansion, he said.

College officials are exploring adding space for programs in medical terminology, cosmetology with a component for barbers and in welding, he said. The grant from the Economic Development Administration of the United States Department of Commerce requires the college to provide $2 million in matching funds. The president proposed using money from the physical plant fund to pay for the expansion.

Sam Houston State gets approval for two new buildings
Two new projects have been added to the Sam Houston State University capital improvements program following action of the Texas State University System Board of Regents. The projects include construction of a new CMIT/LEMIT/TDCJ (Correctional Management Institute of Texas/Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas/Texas Department of Criminal Justice facility and an expansion of the Lowman Student Center. Both projects have been a part of the master plan, but have been moved up for their starting dates.

Midwestern State projects to begin after $2.21 million gift
A $2.21 million gift to Midwestern State University is expected to jump-start a $39 million program that includes both new construction and renovations across the campus. The donation by philanthropist Kay Dillard comes after MSU met Dillard's challenge to raise a $2 million match. MSU Vice President Howard Farrell said the university surpassed its goal, raising $2.4 million from private donors.

The construction/renovation program will include renovating the Christ Academy building, which has been vacant since it was purchased two years ago. It will be the new mass communications and counseling services home. Other projects include additions to the McCoy Engineering and Bolin Science halls, construction of parking area, a new police station, new student housing, new green space and razing several buildings. Officials say more and larger classrooms are needed, as are more laboratories.

Information above taken from Texas Government Insider, Strategic Partnerships Inc. unless otherwise noted.