The MSU Board of Trustees announced its New Year's resolutions Friday to address the Capital Campaign, the impending budget challenges, the push to secure the Rare Isotope Accelerator and the expansion of MSU's College of Human Medicine.
Trustee and board chairman David Porteous named the four initiatives at the meeting, beginning with the university's Capital Campaign.
"It's just a top, top priority of this institution," Porteous said.
Trustee Randall Pittman said the campaign, which is an effort to raise $1.2 billion by 2007, doesn't only help MSU.
"This Capital Campaign really helps with the quality of Michigan State University and the quality of education for tomorrow," he said. "This is one of the things that can really make a difference."
The second goal, Porteous said, is to address the $920 million state budget crisis and the effects it might have on the university.
"As difficult as the budget challenge has been over the past couple of years, there's just no end to it," he said.
The third initiative is MSU's pull to obtain the Rare Isotope Accelerator, or RIA, a $1 billion federal project. RIA was recently named as the No. 3 scientific research project in the United States for the next 20 years by U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham.
"2004 is going to be a very critical time," Porteous said.
The recent announcement that MSU's College of Human Medicine might expand to Grand Rapids is the fourth initiative MSU will face in the upcoming year, Porteous said.
"That is also a very important issue and one that is very important for (M.) Peter (McPherson) and his team to work through," he said.
The trustees also voted Friday to appoint the Christman Company for the next major residence hall renovation.
An $18 million renovation project on Snyder and Phillips halls, which were built in the late 1940s, will begin in May 2005.
The funding will be taken out of the complex's budget, said Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations.
"These systems are paid for out of the fees paid by the students who live in the residence halls, which we keep separate from the general fund," Poston said during the meeting. "This is the next residence hall in the progression of residence halls in the renovation project."
Poston added that the buildings are "built exceptionally well," but they need to be fixed up every 50 years or so.
"The bathrooms are definitely in need of being replaced," he said, adding that because of the economic state, MSU would save money on the renovation.
"The construction climate is such at the moment that we're saving 20 to 25 percent of the costs we would normally pay," Poston said.
Also at the meeting, the board approved a 3 percent raise in MSU President M. Peter McPherson's salary.
But McPherson had different plans for the raise.
"It would be my intent to give back to the general fund this raise increase," he said. "I've always been a little resistant to raises over the years."
