Regents notes: Construction projects, coach contract OK’d
The CU Board of Regents on June 15 approved program plans and/or revisions to several capital construction projects across the campuses, including:
- A new flagship aerospace facility and six others at CU Boulder
- The William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center at UCCS
- CU Denver’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Project
- The Colorado Center for Personalized Medicine and Behavioral Health at CU Anschutz
One of the projects, the CASE (Center for Academic Success and Engagement) addition at the Euclid Avenue autopark – already underway at CU Boulder – inspired Regent John Carson, R-Highlands Ranch, to voice concerns.
“The Boulder campus, I think, is one of the three or four most beautiful campuses in America,” Carson said. “We’re putting more and more buildings in there and really compromising the beauty of the campus. … I think it’s time to take a hard look at whether we want to build more at that main Boulder campus.”
Carson said he respects the work of the board’s capital construction committee and he noted the project’s original approval came before he was a member of the board. He said he doesn’t oppose growth at the CU Boulder East Campus or Williams Village, nor is he against improvements to existing facilities at the main campus. He voted against the additional funding for the CASE building.
Regents Kyle Hybl, R-Colorado Springs, and Sue Sharkey, R-Castle Rock, were among the seven votes in favor, though both said they share Carson’s concerns about overcrowding on the main CU Boulder campus. Regent Jack Kroll, D-Denver, abstained from the vote.
In other business at the June 15-16 Board of Regents meeting at UCCS:
- In an 8-0 vote on consent agenda, the board approved a contract extension for CU Boulder head football coach Mike MacIntyre. The contract has the same terms as presented to the board in February, with the exception of added language regarding training and reporting responsibilities.
- In a presentation by Rebecca Theobald, UCCS assistant research professor, Geography and Environmental Studies Department and coordinator for the Colorado Geographic Alliance, regents and campus leaders stepped onto an oversized state map to hear history of the shifts in Colorado’s industries and population.
- The board voted to approve three new CU Boulder degrees.
Full agenda items and vote results are posted at the Board of Regents’ BoardDocs site.