UNIVERSITY CAMPAIGN 94% OF GOAL

The physical plant at Southeast Missouri State University received a $110,000 in-kind gift last month from the recently closed Chrysler Plant Number One near Fenton.

With the addition of the Chrysler gift, the Southeast Missouri University Foundation's "New Vision of Excellence" capital campaign has reached the $23.5 million level, which represents 94 percent of the campaign goal of $25 million, said Don Ford, university development director.

The solicitation phase of the drive continues through June 30.

"We are very happy to report the campaign's progress at $23.5 million," Ford added. "Despite these recessionary times, we are confident that we will reach our $25 million goal before the campaign's solicitation phase ends next summer."

Donated computers and related equipment have brought Southeast's physical plant up-to-date in its master plan for computer automated heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), said Tom Cox, physical plant energy manager.

Currently, 17 out of 37 on-campus buildings are monitored by a computerized HVAC system, known as central monitoring and control. Controllers monitor and automatically activate HVAC systems according to a programmed schedule, Cox said.

"In some cases, what we have been using are Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) purchased in the 1970s and early 1980s that have not been manufactured for seven years," Cox said.

Accessory items donated by Chrysler, such as communication cards and memory expansion units, can be linked to existing PLCs to upgrade the system and increase programming memory, Cox said.

To Chrysler, he said, the Fenton Plant Number One's equipment was outdated in comparison to other Chrysler plant systems. The gift, however, has allowed Southeast's physical plant to upgrade its facility at a cost to the university of only in-house labor and wiring costs, he said.

"Although Chrysler saw the Fenton plant's system as surplus, it isn't surplus to us. It is becoming harder for us to find funding for maintaining the central monitoring and control system that is in place," he said.

Once the gift in kind was confirmed, a Chrysler manager met Cox and Jim Daume, Southeast physical plant's energy specialist, at the Fenton plant and gave them empty packaging containers "to pack up with whatever was needed," Cox said.