Regents pare wish list

Presidents of colleges and universities across the state proposed Friday campus construction projects for more than 1.2 million new square feet with an estimated cost of more than $328 million in state funding.

However, the Board of Regents, which heard the various proposals during a meeting in Salt Lake City, prioritized the list of requests, hoping at best that at least the top four will be funded by legislators in the upcoming legislative session.

"Over the years, most of the Board of Regents' priorities do get funded," said Rich Kendell, Utah commissioner of higher education. He said the quantifiable approach to ranking the projects is a good way to go.

The projects were pitched as each school's top priority, but given the expected condition of the state budget, which can't possibly cover the cost of all requests, the regents were forced to pare down the list. The various projects were ranked by regents based on a number of qualification and prioritization criteria, including the commitment of other funding sources, life safety issues and the overall need for new space.

As the top priority, and of utmost importance to the University of Utah, a new David Eccles School of Business would provide a much-needed upgrade to a 40-year-old building that offers students only minimal gathering space.

"It's basically a rat-maze of cubicles and offices," Jack Brittain, dean of the school of business, said about the state of the business building. "The remodel scenarios are not practical, and it's much cheaper to tear down the building, especially given the extra space we'll gain."

Under the plan, the U. would demolish two of the four existing buildings in the business complex and replace them with a new building, adding 16 classrooms and additional office and study space.

Among other top priorities is a new College of Agriculture building at Utah State University in Logan. The current building, built in 1953, has significant structural and safety concerns and doesn't have nearly enough classrooms and laboratories for the work students and faculty do there, said Noelle E. Cockett, dean of the College of Agriculture.

USU's project has secured nearly $60 million in federal funding, and Cockett said the project "is critical to the university when recognizing the legacy of agriculture in this state."

A significant building at the Salt Lake Community College promises to bring 45 new classrooms to the South City Campus and ranks No. 3 on the regents' list. SLCC President Cynthia Bioteau said a new digital design and communications center would put multiple disciplines under one roof.