Trustees approve plans, bond requests for new Clemson buildings

CLEMSON — Clemson University trustees approved final phase plans and resolutions authorizing issuance of revenue bonds to construct a new academic building to house the College of Business and a new tennis center on campus.

The business college will relocate from its current home in Sirrine Hall, which was built in 1938. Sirrine will be used for the university’s ongoing maintenance and stewardship plan for older facilities.

The proposed new 162,000-square-foot business building, scheduled to open in summer 2019, includes classrooms and learning laboratories, faculty and administrative offices, study and gathering spaces and common areas for greater collaboration among students, faculty, staff and business partners.

The total project cost, estimated to be $87.5 million will be funded through a combination of state capital appropriations, state institution bonds and private gift funds.

The proposed tennis center for the men’s and women’s varsity teams will retain existing tennis facilities, including outdoor competition courts and a 700-seat permanent stadium. The new 48,000-square-foot tennis center will include six indoor courts, two outdoor courts, a clubhouse, locker rooms, a training room, equipment rooms, a players’ lounge, laundry and coaches’ offices, a ticket office, public restrooms and related site work.

The total project cost, estimated to be $12.5 million, will be funded either by athletic facilities revenue bonds and/or athletic private gifts. It is scheduled to be completed in winter 2017-18.

Trustees also approved a $10 million budget for renovations and expansion of IPTAY offices at Memorial Stadium, to be funded by athletic private gifts.

In action related to academic programs, the trustees approved:

• a new online Master of Science degree in data science and analytics;
• adding MUSC in Charleston as an additional location for Master of Science in Bioengineering and Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering courses;
• transition of the Registered Nurse (RN) /Bachelor of Science Completion Program to online delivery;
• a name change from Master of Arts in Professional Communication to Master of Arts in Writing, Rhetoric, and Media;
• a concentration merger in Bachelor of Science Materials Science and Engineering; and
• the lease renewal for the component testing laboratory at CU-ICAR in Greenville.

The trustees approved extending the contract for President James P. Clements and salary increases for the associate vice president for enrollment management, the associate provost for faculty affairs, the associate provost and dean of the graduate school and the chief of staff.