Three renovation projects will move forward on the Arkansas Tech University campus in Russellville following approval by the ATU Board of Trustees during its meeting on Thursday, Oct. 18.
The improvements will be made to a newly-acquired property on North El Paso Avenue, Doc Bryan Student Services Center and the Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex.
Trustees voted to transfer $305,750 from the unappropriated educational and general fund balance to cover costs associated with interior renovations, relocation expenses and technology upgrades at the former City of Russellville Public Works building located at 716 N. El Paso Ave.
The facility was acquired by ATU to serve as a new home for its Department of Public Safety. The university is also exploring the possibility of utilizing portions of the property for academic programs.
The board took an initial step toward a new roof and waterproofing for the Doc Bryan Student Services Center by approving a transfer $300,000 from the Doc Bryan Student Services renovation fund for initial architectural services to develop a scope of work for the renovation.
Improvements at the Chartwells Women’s Sports Complex will include drainage work, construction of batting cages and the installation of a new outfield fence for the softball field. Funding for the $146,832 project will come from the unappropriated athletics fund balance.
In other business on Thursday, the ATU Board of Trustees approved:
*on-call architecture contracts with Crafton Tull, Wittenburg Delony and Davidson and WER;
*renewal of health, dental, vision, life and disability coverage for ATU employees with Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield and USAble for calendar year 2019;
*establishment of a $12 per student semester credit hour technology fee for students attending ATU through North Arkansas College;
*the sale of the South Hall facility, 1710 West C Place in Russellville, at a price of $575,000 to Russellville Holdings LLC;
*letters of notification concerning the establishment of undergraduate certificate programs in Spanish for medical interpretation and teaching English to speakers of other languages, both effective fall 2019;
*parking and traffic regulations for the ATU campus in Russellville for the 2018-19 academic year;
*and a transfer of unappropriated funds in the amount of $41,289 to pay for updates in welding equipment and commons area furniture at Arkansas Tech Career Center.
In personnel matters, trustees approved the following full-time faculty appointments for the 2018-19 academic year:
*Dr. Julie Bridges, visiting instructor of curriculum and instruction; Dr. Randy Kelley, visiting assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Jessica Mongeon, assistant professor of art and foundations coordinator; Dr. Kathleen Myers, visiting instructor of curriculum and instruction; and Christina Stolarz, visiting instructor of legal studies.
Staff appointments approved by trustees on Thursday included:
*Angela Bell, coordinator of student engagement in the College of Business, effective Aug. 23, 2018; Deborah Brady, project/program administrator in the Office of Student Accounts, effective Sept. 12, 2018; Judith Dunmire, math specialist for the ATU Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Collaborative, effective Sept. 10, 2018; Jennifer Fleming, assistant to the president, effective Aug. 20, 2018; Stacy Galbo, deputy Title IX coordinator for educational outreach and training/Title IX investigator, effective Oct. 15, 2018; Adam Hanry, executive chef at Lake Point Conference Center, effective Nov. 1, 2018; Amanda Johnson, director of Norman Career Services, effective Oct. 1, 2018; Sarah Ashlee Leavell, assistant director of disability services and university testing, effective Oct. 10, 2018; Morgan Lunsford, admissions officer, effective Aug. 20, 2018; Sandra Mabry, construction coordinator, effective Oct. 1, 2018; Taneshia Nesbitt, student development specialist at Arkansas Tech Career Center, effective Oct. 1, 2018; Whitney Schneider-Parsons, coordinator of student recruitment at ATU-Ozark Campus, effective Oct. 3, 2018; Haley Thomas, child welfare emphasis partnership research assistant, effective Sept. 10, 2018; and Holli Weiss, assistant dean for student wellness/Title IX deputy coordinator, effective Aug. 27, 2018.
The board accepted the following resignations:
*Colleen Bennett, project/program specialist in the Office of Student Accounts, effective Sept. 28, 2018; Hunter Bramlitt, counselor, effective Nov. 28, 2018; Dr. Lee Cabell, head and associate professor of health and physical education, effective Aug. 17, 2018; Dr. Bruce Chehroudi, professor of mechanical engineering, effective Sept. 13, 2018; Jordan Denton, assessment specialist, effective Nov. 2, 2018; Brenda Huntsinger, workforce education faculty of health information technology at ATU-Ozark Campus, effective May 9, 2018; and Alicen McMahan, associate director of financial aid at ATU-Ozark Campus, effective Jan. 2, 2019.
ATU faculty members Cynthia Jones and Dr. Linda Kondrick both had their requests for retirement accepted by the board.
Jones, associate professor of nursing, will retire effective May 11, 2019. She has been a member of the ATU faculty since 1984. Kondrick, associate professor of physical science, will retire effective Aug. 12, 2019. She has served on the ATU faculty since 2001.
