H. Ford Stryker, associate vice president of the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) at Penn State gave a presentation to the Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business, and Capital Planning on Thursday that outlined a three-phase plan to renovate the IM Building on campus to include additional fitness space, increase the level of entrance control and security, add more basketball and racquetball courts, and update the track, among other things.
Stryker stated that only the first phase has been approved for funding, and would consist of expanding the front of the building on all three levels to include more fitness space, control entrance to the building, and improve the look of the building and landscaping from the outside.
He also mentioned plans to renovate the ground, second, and fourth floors of South Frear to include additional lab and research space.
Among the updates, Stryker detailed some needed for facilities meant for washing and disinfecting animal cages, which he said are currently "decrepit" and in dire need of repair.
Property recently purchased both at Penn State Behrend and Penn State Mont Alto were presented to the board by Daniel W. Sieminski, associate vice president for finance and business at Penn State.
Board member Paul H. Silvis raised concerns about the necessity of the land at the Behrend campus, but both Sieminski and Board member Linda B. Strumpf agreed purchasing the property was a good investment for the future.
An old Air Force building at Penn State Harrisburg will be updated to include several larger classrooms, as well as rooms for engineering classes, Stryker said.
Stryker also brought up Navy property in Philadelphia, on which Penn State will renovate one building and build another, sharing both with more than ten other universities for research and lectures.
David J. Gray, senior vice president for Finance and Business at Penn State, addressed the Freeh Report, saying that substantial progress has been and is being made, and that he expects 75 percent of the report will be complete by the end of the semester.
Gray also mentioned that terms for fellowships, scholarships, and grants would be altered to include a period for revision from mid-October to mid-December.
