Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Approves $6.15 Million Bond Issue

Acting to advance Michigan Technological University’s strategic plan and meet its primary goals, the University Board of Trustees today authorized issuing $6.15 million in bonds for buildings and facilities.

A portion of the bond revenue will be used to construct a new building at the Keweenaw Research Center at the Houghton County Memorial Airport and to perform maintenance to the third floor of the Memorial Union Building. The remainder is earmarked for purchase of the UPPCO building in downtown Houghton and related remodeling of campus buildings.

“These projects are essential if Michigan Tech is to keep moving ahead to reach our goals,” said President Glenn D. Mroz. “They will provide much-needed space for several academic units and enhanced space for our students.”

Each of the projects supports three main goals of Michigan Tech’s strategic plan:
• Attract and support a world-class and diverse faculty, staff and student population.
• Deliver a distinctive and rigorous discovery-based learning experience grounded in science, engineering, technology, sustainability and the business of innovation.
• Establish world-class research, scholarship and innovation in science, engineering and technology that promotes sustainable economic development in Michigan and the nation.

Construction of a new design center and office complex at the Keweenaw Research Center (KRC) addresses all three strategic goals. The KRC is a multidisciplinary research center completely supported by external corporate and governmental agency funding. Research and development activities there focus on many aspects of ground vehicle performance.

Most of the current center is housed in 56-year-old quonset huts built by the Army.
“The new design center and office complex will enable the KRC to attract more research dollars and expand its work with University academic programs, including Enterprise and Senior Design projects and the Summer Youth Program,” said Dave Reed, vice president for research.

The Memorial Union Building (MUB) will receive extensive and overdue maintenance to the third floor. University departments, student organizations and community groups use the ballroom there for 700 different events annually.

“The third floor can and should be a premier space,” said Theresa Coleman-Kaiser, director of the Memorial Union. “This upgrade will enhance the look and functionality greatly.”

Purchase of the UPPCO building will enable Michigan Tech to expand certain academic programs on campus by moving some administrative offices to the downtown building.

“The School of Business and Economics, the Department of Social Sciences and the Cognitive and Learning Sciences Department expect to see faculty growth in the near future because they play a key role in a number of interdisciplinary initiatives, including global studies; sustainability; preparation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers; and exploration of the interaction between humans and machines,” explained Provost Lesley Lovett-Doust.

A University task force will be appointed to determine which offices and departments will move.

In other business, the Board of Trustees:
• Approved awarding U.S. Senator Carl Levin an honorary Doctorate in Sustainable Science and Engineering
• Approved a proposal to install synthetic turf at Sherman Field, the Michigan Tech football stadium. Gifts from football alumni and friends will be used to pay for the synthetic turf.
• Gave final approval to a new Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre and electronic media performance.
• Learned that research expenditures through the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2008 totaled nearly $29.5 million, a 17.3 percent increase over the second quarter of FY2007. Research has been increasing steadily from $30 million in FY2002 to a projected $63 million this year.
• Approved emeritus status for Jong K. Lee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
• Approved appointments with tenure for Jean-Celeste Kampe, Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Darrell Radson, School of Business and Economics; Stephen L. Kampe, Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Karla Kitalong, Department of Humanities; and Ching-An Peng, Department of Chemical Engineering.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.