$117.3M proposed to boost science

Regents: Upgrades needed at colleges

A sweeping, $117.3 million plan to build science facilities and upgrade laboratories at South Dakota's public universities is expected to win final approval from the Board of Regents today.

The building program, which one higher education official said will change the culture of the public university system, envisions $74.5 million in state funds through a bonding program and $42.8 million in federal and private money over several years.

One or more of the proposed projects will touch each of the seven campuses, if Gov. Mike Rounds and the 2008 Legislature approve the ambitious building program.

"I keep telling people we are in a Sputnik moment," Tad Perry, executive director of the regents, said. He referred to the moment in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the first satellite. That action sparked a massive push in the United States for science education.

"We are trying to bring every one of the campuses to state-of-the-art status," Perry said. "This is as comprehensive an approach as we can make it, to get the science and engineering labs up to the most current standards, both for the benefit of the students and the faculty."

In August, when the regents released their budget proposal for the next year, Perry referred to the upcoming plan for the upgrades and said, "Our labs are embarrassingly out of date."

The proposal anticipates that the South Dakota Building Authority will issue the bonds for the state's share of the projects.

"We're proposing that the state pay off the bonds on this one, rather than the students," he said.

Essentially, what would happen is the Legislature would appropriate money, from general funds or other sources of state cash, to make the bond payments, he said.

`More opportunities'

A student leader at Black Hills State University said her campus is excited by the plan.

"That means on our campus we can hopefully expand our programs and give our students more opportunities to leave with the most current education and with a knowledge of the most current facilities possible," said Jill Kary, vice president of the student association at the Spearfish campus. "Facilities won't take the place of great faculty. You still need the teachers. But equipment and facilities are a vital part of the process if we are going to turn out South Dakota students who can compete for jobs with anyone."

The upgrading and new construction includes about $40 million for a new science building and renovations at Shepard Hall and $8 million in other laboratory upgrades at South Dakota State University. That's an incredible commitment, said Alex Brown, president of the student association on the Brookings campus.

"To have them focusing on improving technology and facilities is fantastic," Brown said. "A lot of students are very excited about the potential upgrades, and not just the ones in the (science) majors. The fact that the board is making that kind of commitment to the campuses means they recognize what it takes to keep the quality of the education at the highest level."

Perry said, "I think that's a good response from that student. It is a statement by the Board of Regents that they are interested in high-quality education and are willing to commit to the facilities needed for that."

Perry said the system-wide initiative is essential because modern science and engineering labs aren't just for faculty researchers or graduate students.

"You have to give the undergraduate students exposure to these same opportunities," he said.

Long time coming

Some members of the board have had the upgrades as a goal for a long while.

When the regents completed work on their budget in August, President Harvey Jewett noted that, while progress was being made in a few areas, a system-wide initiative for better science facilities was vital to keeping the campuses in step with such projects as the underground laboratory being developed at Homestake Mine.

"You can go to the University of South Dakota, go to the medical school and see state-of-the-art laboratories and walk across the street and see stuff that is 30, 35 years old," he said then.

The regents consider the Homestake lab and major investments in health care and medical research being funded by philanthropist T. Denny Sanford a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"This is a defining moment in time," Jewett said in August. "If we blink and miss this opportunity, we simply will not be ready."

After the committee action on Thursday, Jewett said, "Many of these science facilities are in poor condition and beyond renovation or repair. If we are to properly grow research here in South Dakota, improving the quality of the science facilities and labs has to be a priority."

Perry said he was certain the full board would approve the package before it finished its meeting today. He said details of the plan were included in budget proposals already submitted to Rounds' Bureau of Finance and Management for consideration in the governor's budget.

Reach Terry Woster at (605) 224-0522.

Projects get nod

Preliminary plans approved by the regents' committee on Thursday:

Black Hills State University

Æ Science building

($8 million state funds)

Dakota State University

Æ Habeger Science Center renovation

($6 million state funds, $30,100 other funds)

Northern State University

Æ Science lab upgrades ($2.8 million state funds)

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Æ Chemistry/chemical engineering replacement and research building ($8 million state funds, $10 million other funds)

Æ Paleontology building ($7 million state funds)

South Dakota State University

Æ Lab upgrade

($8 million state funds, $422,000 other funds)

Æ New science building and Shepard Hall renovations

($8 million state funds, $32 million other funds)

University of South Dakota

Æ Arthur M. Pardee Lab renovation ($3.8 million state funds)

Æ Julian Hall Addition renovation ($2.5 million state funds)

Æ Churchill-Haines Lab renovation ($5.25 million state funds)

Æ Akeley Lawrence Science Center renovation ($4.25 million state funds)

University Center

Æ Science labs ($900,000 state funds)

Æ USD and SDSU Simulation Center for use by Health Science students ($10 million state funds)