Trustee discussions on athletics, grade inflation and several other issues will have to wait until next year, after extreme weather conditions forced the Board of Trustees to cut short its meeting this weekend.
Only about half of the Board's 37 voting members actually made it to Durham, due to transportation difficulties. Many of those who did come faced problems with living arrangements, as most stayed in the Washington Duke Inn, which had lighting and hot water but no heat.
Trustees held only two meetings of the weekend's full schedule of events. The Building and Grounds Committee and the Business and Finance Committee met in a joint session Friday morning, and Board members gathered in a plenary session that afternoon.
The Trustees' only public action involved three planned construction projects. They gave final approval to a $22 million, 47,000 square-foot addition to the Divinity School that will include a new 315-seat chapel, named for the late W. Kenneth Goodson, a former Trustee, as well as a bishop in the United Methodist Church. The addition will also have offices, classroom space, a bookstore, a preaching and worship lab, and prayer room.
"This additional space will make a profound difference in enabling people to be present to one another for the sake of worship, learning and conversation," Divinity School Dean Gregory Jones said in a statement. "It also offers significant opportunities for strengthening our outreach to laity in lifelong learning, as well as enhancing technologies in the service of our education."
The Board also approved extending dormitory renovations in Kilgo Quadrangle, half of which was refurbished last year as part of a $37 million plan to improve West Campus' oldest dorms over the next several years. The project will add air conditioning to the buildings, as well as renovate rooms and bathrooms.
Trustees deferred action on the third project, an addition to the Washington Duke Inn that will add 100 guest rooms as well as additional public areas. The plan had earlier been projected to cost $25 million to $30 million, but the Board put off the idea for further study.
The Board did get a chance to approve the more routine parts of its agenda, including faculty appointments and other non-controversial items. Most of the Board's other major agenda items will be delayed until May, said John Burness, senior vice president for public affairs and government relations.
The Trustees are scheduled to devote their February meeting to a two-year review of the University's current strategic plan, Building on Excellence. Provost Peter Lange said the truncated nature of this weekend's meeting means the administration will need to spend more time over the next two months preparing the Board for the strategic plan's review.
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