The IU Board of Trustees approved proposals for new projects and designs and elected new officers in its final meeting before the 2015-16 academic year.
The trustees, IU’s governing board, legal owner and final authority, according to its website, met Thursday and Friday at IU-Bloomington.
The University Relations Committee, chaired by James Morris, and the Finance, Audit and Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Andrew Mohr, convened Thursday, while the Facilities and Auxiliaries Committee, chaired by Philip Eskew, and the Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee, chaired by Patrick Shoulders, convened Friday.
The trustees approved proposals for multiple projects and designs, including an addition to the School of Dentistry at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, renovations to the Neuroscience Research Building at the IU School of Medicine, the construction of a new four-story building at the IU School of Medicine and the construction of a new outdoor amphitheater at IU-Bloomington.
The addition to the School of Dentistry at IUPUI includes new operatories and exam rooms, wet labs, administrative and faculty offices, client reception and waiting areas, and mechanical and other support areas, according to the agenda.
The addition of approximately 45,000 gross square feet will cost $21.6 million.
The renovations to the Neuroscience Research Building at the IU School of Medicine includes new biomedical laboratory space with lab support, animal housing and offices, according to the agenda.
The addition of approximately 10,000 gross square feet will cost roughly $3 million.
The new outdoor amphitheater at IU-Bloomington, initially proposed by Herman B Wells, will border the Jordan River near Bryan House and may be used for theatrical productions and quiet study, according to the agenda.
The trustees also reelected Randall Tobias to a two-year term as the chair of the board.
Tobias, who was appointed to the board in 2013 by Indiana Governor Mike Pence, is the former chairman and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company and the former chairman and CEO of AT&T International, according to a press release.
He was the nation’s first U.S. Global AIDS coordinator with the rank of ambassador and the first director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Tobias received a bachelor’s degree from the Kelley School of Business and six more honorary degrees, including one from IU.
MaryEllen Bishop will again serve as vice chair, and Donald Steven Lukes will serve as treasurer. MaryFrances McCourt will serve as assistant treasurer, Deborah Lemon will serve as secretary, and Jacqueline Simmons will serve assistant secretary, according to the release. The board’s nominating committee selected the new officers.
The trustees also approved the appointment of Fred Cate as IU’s new vice president for research, announced July 15, according to a separate press release.
As the new vice president for research, Cate will be responsible for overseeing current internal funding programs, developing new external funding sources, overseeing current research development services and fostering high-quality research, according to the website of the executive vice president for University academic affairs.
“His experience, leadership and vision make him an ideal candidate to lead and strengthen IU’s research enterprise and to squarely focus the creative and scholarly work of our artists and scientists on the grand challenges facing our state, nation and world,” IU President Michael McRobbie said in the release.
Ashleigh Sherman
