Board of Regents approves funding for new buildings
The State Board of Regents met at Utah State University last week to discuss proposed capital improvement projects at public higher education institutions around the state.
Each college and university submitted its highest priority projects to the board, which then ranked each proposal on a qualification and prioritization scale intended to give the process some objective basis. The prioritization scale took existing space and projected needs as well as safety issues into consideration.
The state’s primary research schools, Utah State and the University of Utah, were invited to submit two, rather than one, project to the board.
Both of Utah State’s proposals were agriculture related.
First, a $5 million proposal to move some 77 agricultural research buildings from Innovation Campus, located north of main campus, to the Caine Dairy Research and Teaching Center and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station South Farm near Wellsville. This would centralizes all of the university’s agricultual research facilities and free up space closer to the main campus for other types of research.
The university also requested $57 million for a new agricultural science building on campus. Administrators said the existing building is more than 50 years old, too small and has numerous saftey problems, including asbestos paneling, insufficient wiring for standard information technology and other electronic systems and a centralized air system that mixes laboratories with classrooms and offices.
The board ranked the proposed centralization of agricultural research facilities at number one and the new agricultural science building at number four on the prioritization criterion. Both of the University of Utah’ s proposals will seek funds through other state economic development programs.
In all, the board approved $192 million in capital development projects throughout the state. It is now up to the state legislature to aprove funds.
-russfuller@cc.usu.edu