Southeast seeks means for campuswide renovations

The science laboratories on Southeast Missouri State University's campus reflect two different worlds.

Some rooms have corroded sinks and hanging power cords while others gleam with new equipment and open space. Walls of the newer chemistry lab are lined with more fume hoods, where students complete experiments, than the older labs.

The outdated facilities have not kept up with advances in science and education, said Chris McGowan, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.

"We, as chemists, know more about what you shouldn't be breathing than we did 40 years ago," he said, referring to the addition of more fume hoods in the newer facilities.

McGowan and other university officials acknowledge their facilities pale in comparison to local high schools.

Dr. Bruce Hathaway, foreground, works with student Adam Ansberry in a research lab at Magill Hall on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. (Fred Lynch)

"We're not meeting our mission to our students," said Kathy Mangels, vice president of finance and administration.

With the possibility of a bond issue pending in the state legislature, Southeast is coping with maintenance and upkeep issues, like many public institutions across Missouri.

A $2 million federal grant will help move the science renovation project along, but a student fee is the primary source of funding for the renovations.

Since the fee was implemented in 2006, the university has been completing improvements to the science buildings piece by piece. With funding through the student fee alone, university officials estimate it will take up to 12 years to complete the project. A new science facility and renovations to Johnson, Rhodes and Magill halls are the university's $37 million top capital request to the Missouri Department of Higher Education.

Another top priority for the university is Academic Hall, where admissions, student financial services and the registrar's office are housed. Water pipes burst in the building three times in the past year and a half. It would cost an estimated $28.1 million to renovate the building, which is more than a century old.

The university's second capital priority outlines $32.76 million in renovations campuswide.

McGowan said he acknowledges that facility shortfalls are not confined to the science labs.

"It's not the only 50-year-old building on campus," McGowan said referring to Magill Hall, which was built in 1960.

Nine campus buildings were constructed before 1909. Between 1909 and 1959, 24 buildings were constructed.

Deferred maintenance and outdated science facilities are a trend across the state, according to a report released by the department in December. The study, completed during the summer, outlined the maintenance needs of all the state universities and community colleges.

According to industry standards, the report says public institutions should spend 1.5 percent of the replacement value of buildings on maintenance.

For Southeast, that figure equals about $10 million, Mangels said. Southeast budgeted $2.8 million for maintenance on academic buildings, including $1.66 million from the state, she said. Parking improvements and residence hall construction projects were funded through the university's self-sustaining auxiliaries, which include residence life, the Show Me Center and the aquatic center.

Because the university does not have $10 million to allocate toward maintenance of academic buildings, projects must be evaluated and prioritized, Mangels said.

"You have some things that become a priority that you don't plan on," she said.

The university spent $450,000 to buy a refurbished generator from AmerenUE when the campus lost power for two days in November. Later in the month, there was another unrelated power failure, which was attributed to needed infrastructure repairs.

Southeast pursued an application through the Federal Emergency Management Agency to buy and install another generator that would power a third of the campus in a power outage. The generator, which costs $750,000, would be partially funded through the university. Finding alternative sources of funding is becoming more of a trend, Mangels said.

"Every institution needs to realize that's a permanent shift," she said.

A resolution pending in the legislature could be the solution to the problem or it could generate more questions for state universities. Legislation introduced last month by Rep. Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, proposes sending an $800 million bond issue to voters in November. Kelly and co-sponsor House Majority Leader Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, introduced the same measure last year. It cleared the House but stalled in the Senate.

"I think the key is identifying the senators who have concerns with it," Tilley said.

The issue includes suspended Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority projects and the top capital priority for each institution. For Southeast, that would mean $4.5 million in funding for a business incubator, which was a suspended MOHELA project, and the $37 million for science laboratories.

The top request at Three Rivers Community College is $2.39 million for renovations to the library and occupational building. At Mineral Area College, the priority is $3.43 million for the expansion of science and allied health programs.

If the measure meets opposition in the legislature again, Dobbins said the university will have to look at alternative means of funding, including a bond issue for Southeast.

"If it falls through again, I don't know if it will ever get revived," Southeast president Dr. Ken Dobbins said.

The legislation comes at a time when institutions are tightening their belts financially. Southeast budget committees are identifying nearly $8 million in budget cuts over the next two years in anticipation of lower state funding. In a letter to university presidents last month, the commissioner of higher education, Dr. Robert Stein, said institutions might have to find new ways to cut costs than in the past.

"This round, however, is different due to the extensiveness of the current economic downturn worldwide, the expectation that economic recovery will take longer than in past recessions, and the sensitivity about using tuition increases to fill a portion of financial shortfalls," Stein said in the Jan. 22 letter.

Supporters of the legislation, including Dobbins, said it will take advantage of low interest rates and create jobs for the slowing construction industry.

"Obviously there's concerns about the state going into debt to do this," Tilley said. "I answer that by saying this is something that will be addressed by the voters."

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