The Oakland University Board of Trustees met on March 28 to discuss many topics, including the approval of new majors, the development of the engineering building, housing and the Human Health Building.

6. In regards to housing, “it’s absolutely a critical need and I’m confident the issue will be addresses,” Gary Russi, university president, said. “There were hundreds of developers who were interested in partnering with us, so a committee was formed with internal people who brought in good applications to work with us. We are down to five. The next step is to call each in to look at their proposal. If we can get a decision at the BOT meeting in June, (it will) take six to eight months to get the design and then break grounds in (the) next spring.”

5. With a budget of $6.6 million, the anatomy labs and physical therapy rooms have been approved to be expanded to include storage rooms and cadavers and will accommodate 159 students in Hannah Hall. Plans have been drawn out and all interested people have signed off.

4. The new Human Health Building, which will be occupied in fall of 2012, might be serviced by Aramark custodial services upon its opening. If the amendment is passed, and not to exceed $593,860, the contract will be extended for two years. It was decided that any further discussion will be withheld until it is reviewed and approved by the Office of the Vice President for Legal Affairs and General Counsel. John Beaghan, vice president for finance and  administration, said he didn’t hear any complaints about the proposed amendment, but custodians in the audience disagreed. The custodial contract was not discussed and taken out of the agenda.

3.  The annual Alfred and  Matilda Wilson awards, along with the Human Relations award, were presented to three students: Maxwell Van Raaphorst, Emily Renee Tissot and Shakita Anne-Marie Billy. The Wilson awards are presented to one male and female senior who have contributed to the university community as scholars, leaders and responsible citizens. The Human Relations award is presented annually to a graduating senior who has significantly contributed to the improvement of intergroup relations on OU’s campus.

2. Several new degrees are forming on campus, including a Bachelor’s in both criminal justice and graphic design and a Master’s degree in psychology. ”I think they are absolutely needed and critical,” Russi said. “The demand for psychologists is huge. The idea of having something special in criminal justice, we know there is a big backlog of students who want to get in criminal justice. Graphic design has been a huge hit … they’re escalating what they can do for the students and an increase of it helps them compete in the market.”

1. The new engineering building has been approved by the BOT and is on schedule. The plan includes a five-story structure and will be the new home for the School of Engineering and Computer Science. With the project to not exceed $74,551,739, the board was presented with five different companies bidding for the job and the services of Walbridge were chosen.