Auburn University’s Board of Trustees convened on Friday, April 14, in Auburn. Action items from the facilities, academic affairs and the executive committees were approved, and Auburn University President Chris Roberts touted some of the University’s latest achievements during the President’s Report.
During the meeting, several facilities projects were approved, certain projects’ budgets were revised, new focuses for bachelor and doctoral programs were announced and language in the university’s research misconduct policy was discussed to comply with updated federal standards.
Facilities Committee
The facilities committee came forward with seven action items presented by Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Dan King, all of which were approved by the board.
Their first item gave final approval to the School of Kinesiology to renovate space in the Student Activity Center and Kinesiology Building to implement the school’s new Doctor of Kinesiology program.
The renovations will take up 5,900 square feet of space in the SAC to create two research labs, a clinical classroom and an active learning classroom. 3,600 square feet of space will be used in the Kinesiology building to implement a large clinic and a cadaver simulation lab.
The renovations are estimated to cost $2.5 million and will be funded by the Office of the Provost’s Mission Enhancement Fund.
King then moved on to propose an architectural group to aid in the relocation of Health Promotion and Wellness Services from the Melton Student Center to the Recreation and Wellness Center.
The architects selected for the project were McMillian Pazdan Smith Architecture of Atlanta.
Following this, King proposed the project initiation of renovations to Auburn’s Athletics Complex to make space for sports medicine services.
“This renovation will facilitate the relocation of sports medicine facilities from the Plainsman Park rehabilitation center and the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum into a newly renovated space inside the Athletics Complex,” King said.
King also noted that this is paving the way for future improvements to Plainsman Park that were approved during their Feb. 3 meeting.
While no cost was estimated, King said that the funds would come from the Athletics Department.
King presented a second request from the Athletics Department, this one dealing with renovations to Pat Dye Field that would replace a drainage system implemented in the 1980s, re-sod the field, help circulation and access throughout the field and update the electrical infrastructure of the field.
According to King, the renovation would begin after the 2023-2024 football season and be ready by 2024’s A-Day.
This project was estimated to cost $6 million and would also be paid for by funds from the Athletics Department.
King said the project was not truly a renovation project, but more accurately a repair project that did not need board approval. However, King said the administration though that being transparent about the repairs would be best.
The final proposals dealt with budget revisions, the first being an $8 million budget increase for a Science Laboratory Facility at Auburn University-Montgomery.
Before presenting these items to the board, however, King noted several reasons why budget increases were becoming commonplace at their meetings. He mentioned issues like labor shortages and supply chain issues, among several others, but he remained optimistic that conditions would soon put a halt to these budget revisions.
The AUM proposal initially began as a $28 million project but suddenly increased to $37 million. Recently, the lowest bid on the project was $36 million, and this was the increase King presented to the board.
The second budget increase came as a result of the construction of a corporate hangar at the Auburn University Regional Airport after it was decided to increase the number of hangar bays from five to six. This led to an increase of $1 million, leaving the project costing $4 million.
The corporate hangar is not for university use. The six hangar bays will be leased out to corporate entities for an estimated two-year period, as estimated by Airport Director Bill Hutto.
Finally, the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center requested an increase in funding for their new Environmental Education Building. Initially estimated to cost $1.5 million, the new budget requests $3.9 million to complete the project.
Academic Affairs Committee
Provost Vini Nathan presented on behalf of the academic affairs committee, proposing two action items and one information item.
The Harrison College of Pharmacy was approved to adopt its first undergraduate program, a Bachelor of Science in Drug and Biopharmaceutical Sciences.
The program is projected to be an option for students in the fall semester of 2024 and will be the only one of its kind in Alabama.
Nathan presented a new supply chain management option for the doctoral program in business administration, an option that she said was nonexistent anywhere else in Alabama, Florida or Mississippi.
The final information item dealt with changing the degree nomenclature. Nathan said the Harbert College of Business wanted to change the finance option within the Master of Science program to a Master of Science in Finance.
Executive Committee
Trustee Wayne Smith called on Vice President for Research and Economic Development President James Weyhenmeyer to present an item that would change both the name and content of the university’s research misconduct policy.
The goal of the revisions was to be in compliance with federal policy so that Auburn could continue to receive federal funding. The research misconduct policy condemns fabrication, falsification and plagiarism in research, but revisions had to be made in accordance with updated language in the federal policy.
Following Weyhenmeyer, Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Bobby Woodard was called to propose the Hardscape Improvement Project which includes the installation of an Aubie figure in the Melton Student Center. The figure, according to Woodard, would serve as a reminder of the Auburn family to Auburn students and visitors.
Other Items
Before entering an executive session, Trustee Jimmy Rane proposed creating a space in Washington, D.C., for Auburn students and faculty who are interested in policymaking or are working with policymakers. Rane said the space would be located just across from the U.S. Capitol building so that Auburn affiliates could consistently engage policymakers and hopefully get involved if they wish to do so.
After reconvening from the executive session, President Roberts delivered remarks about the recent success of events like Tiger Giving Day, as well as the implementation of 300 new scholarships.
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Tucker Massey, junior in journalism, is the content editor for The Auburn Plainsman.
