Columns:: Digest

since 12/15/98

Columns::March 25, 2002

Digest

Legislators provide more than $6 million for UGA in state’s supplemental budget
Final action March 18 by both houses of the Georgia General Assembly on the fiscal year 2002 supplemental budget provided more than $6 million in funds for specific UGA projects.
Legislators provided $1.4 million toward the state’s $10 million share of the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. With construction not slated to begin until spring 2003, officials “took action to match the cash flow of the project with its construction timetable,” said UGA Interim Senior Vice President for External Affairs Steve W. Wrigley. “The move is a prudent one in a tight budget year,” Wrigley added, “and the university remains confident of the state’s commitment to the project.” Congress already has appropriated the $10 million federal share. The university will provide $20 million in private funds.
The General Assembly approved the full $4.3 million requested for the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Animal Health and Bioresources Center, UGA’s top item on the regents’ “small cap” list--those capital funding priorities under $5 million each. The facility will replace outdated animal holding pens and laboratories.
An additional $240,000 was approved for pre-design plans for the new special collections library building. Legislators also added $200,000 for pre-design work on the next phase of the Performing and Visual Arts center, UGA’s top project on the regents’ major capital priority list.
Two Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholars to be housed at the university were approved as well. The $1.5 million appropriation creates an eminent scholar position in drug discovery and another in crop genomics.
At press time, work continued on the fiscal year 2003 state budget, which includes a proposed 3.25 percent pay raise pool for University System employees and $27.7 million in “hold harmless” funding to make up for credit hours lost in the 1997 conversion from quarters to semesters.
“We again want to express our sincere appreciation to the members of the General Assembly and in particular to university’s local representatives, Sen. Doug Haines and Rep. Louise McBee,” said President Michael F. Adams. “They have been unwavering in their efforts to gain appropriate support for the university’s priorities. Louise’s work toward the next phase of the Performing and Visual Arts Complex and Doug’s regarding the bioresources facility are particular evidence of their effectiveness on the university’s behalf.”

Regents OK new housing, parking deck
At its monthly meeting March 13, the University System Board of Regents approved modifications to financing four new residence halls and a parking deck. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2003, the $53 million housing village of four residence halls will provide a total of 1,200 new beds. The housing village is being built by UGA’s private Real Estate Foundation. The new deck on East Campus, also to be financed by the Real Estate Foundation, will be followed by a new parking deck between Broad and Baxter streets. The existing deck next to the Georgia Center for Continuing Education also would be expanded.

Provost withdraws from job search
Karen A. Holbrook, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, has withdrawn from the search for the presidency of Arizona State University. She was one of two finalists for the position. Holbrook notified the Arizona Board of Regents of her decision March 11.
“Arizona State University is an outstanding institution that is playing a major role in the future of that state, as I saw during my visit to campus,” she said. “But after considering what this move would mean professionally and personally, I decided this is not the right fit for me at this time.”

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