February 5, 2021
Dear Colleagues:
I write to share a few highlights from today’s meeting of the Board of Trustees.
Susana Rivera-Mills, our Provost, and Ro-Anne Royer Engle, the Vice President of Student Affairs, provided an update to the Board about our COVID-19 mitigation measures, including some preliminary information about our University’s future role in distributing the vaccine.
As a result of the cooperation from our colleagues across many divisions, our students returned to campus three weeks ago to resume on-campus instruction for the Spring semester. More than 98 percent of our students complied with our pre-arrival COVID-19 testing requirement, and the positivity rate was approximately 2.5%. In the two weeks before the Spring semester began, we offered expanded free testing to our students five days per week. Next week, we will begin offering rapid antigen testing as an additional mitigation measure.
As we prepare for the future, our University will partner with the Delaware County Health Department to serve as the location for a vaccine “super site” as part of the county’s vaccine distribution plan. Students from our School of Nursing will help administer the vaccine.
The Provost shared with the Board details about how our faculty and staff are providing safe in-person and blended online learning experiences for our students. We are continuing our Hyflex model for many courses this Spring, and we have embedded three “study days”— February 24, March 23, and April 14—into the academic calendar to reduce some of the stress on our students.
The Board also heard a presentation about this year’s operating budget.
Alan Finn, Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer, advised that we are presently projecting a modest positive operating margin for the current fiscal year. He also reported that, as a result of the most recent COVID-19 relief package, we expect to receive approximately $22.5 million from the federal government. We are still waiting for specific guidance as to how we can deploy these one-time resources to support financial aid grants for our students and to cover institutional costs associated with the coronavirus.
As the Indiana General Assembly embarks upon a new two-year budget process, Governor Holcomb has recommended that the legislature restore the reductions imposed in the state’s higher education budget this year. We anticipate that legislators will vote to adopt a new biennial budget by April 29.
In other business, the Board also reviewed the proposed designs of two new facilities that will continue the physical transformation of our campus.
Through the generosity of alumnus Charles W. Brown, the Brown Family Amphitheater will become an impressive outdoor performance venue for the Ball State and Muncie communities. The design of the amphitheater will feature a stage that will connect the venue to the surrounding natural landscape. The design for the amphitheater requires certain state approvals. Once we receive these approvals, we will solicit construction bids. I expect that work will begin on the venue this Summer and be completed by Spring 2022.
The Board also reviewed design plans for the renovations to our Cooper Science Building. Approximately 40% of the current structure will be demolished. New design elements that will be added to the building will incorporate more natural light and feature renovated interiors that include an expanded entryway onto the Quad. We will seek construction bids for the project in late Spring, with construction scheduled to begin this Summer.
I am grateful to our colleagues from University Facilities Planning and Management for helping to manage these projects and for collaborating with our colleagues in the various academic departments that are helping us to design these facilities.
I am also grateful to all of you. As we proceed with operating our University during a prolonged pandemic, I appreciate the adjustments and sacrifices you continue to make so that we can fulfill our vital mission of transforming the lives of our students and enhancing the vitality of the communities that we serve.
It is a privilege to serve you.
