The SMU Board of Trustees approved a bond sales plan that willbe used to fund some of the new Dedman Center renovation projectduring their meeting last week.
The board members were on campus Thursday and Friday of lastweek for their September meeting. Reporters were not permitted toattend the meeting, but President R. Gerald Turner met with TheDaily Campus reporters to go over some highlights.
“Now that we’ve seen what’s going to go in[the center], and who’s going to build it, the funding willbe the final step,” Turner said.
The estimated cost for construction on the athletic center isexpected to be $25 million. The board also estimates an additional$5 million will be spent to develop parking lots and garages toreplace parking that will be lost when the center opens inSeptember 2005.
Aside from the bond program, last year the board approved a 1.5percent increase in tuition and fees in each of the next two yearsto cover some of the costs of building. These tuition increasescome on top of whatever hikes the board approves for each year.
The complex will be built on the south side of the Dedman Centerfor Lifetime Sports, which was constructed in 1976.
The board also approved the formation of the Taos ExecutiveBoard to monitor and guide the expansion of Fort Burgwin and theSMU-in-Taos program.
The Board of Trustees saw the necessity of creating the TaosExecutive Board due to increased interest in the SMU-in-Taos summerprograms and some concerns that the campus was being underutilized,Turner said.
“Each of the schools on campus have an executive boardthat guides their development,” Turner said. “Nowwe’ll have one for Taos.”
The board will be primarily composed of Dallas community membersthat also own property in New Mexico.
David deNoyelles Franklin, the co-founder of Texas Land andCattle Company and a 1962 graduate of SMU, will lead the board.
The board will meet twice a year — once in Dallas and oncein Taos. The first Taos meeting will coincide with the opening of anew information center on the campus.
“This will be a significant step in the development of theTaos campus,” Turner said.
