ENMU regents approve five-year plan

A five-year capital plan for Eastern New Mexico University received approval from the ENMU Board of Regents Friday in preparation for presentation to the state Higher Education Department to seek funding for projects to be financed this year by general obligation (GO) bonds.

The projects for which GO bonds will be requested include a new Agricultural and Art Annex building for $15 milllion and a Health Sciences building for $18 million, Tony Major, ENMU’s chief financial officer said, said. In addition, Major said, ENMU will seek $3 million to cover inflation-related cost increases for improvements at the Student Academic Services building. About $9 million in state funds for this project have been approved by the New Mexico Legislature.

ENMU Chancellor James Johnston told the board that the campus is moving in a direction of locating similar schools and colleges of the university “adjacent or near” to each other to help bring about synergy by combining efforts between schools and colleges.

Regent Ray Birmingham asked how placing agriculture and arts in the same space would achieve that goal.

“We would put messy arts in that building,” Johnston said, which include welding and sculpture.

Future projects in the five-year capital plan approved Friday include: heating, ventilation and air conditioning controls replacement campus wide, locker room renovations for the Greyhound Arena, classroom renovations for the College of Business, a new roof for the Education Building, and renovations for the Campus Union Building, among others.

Phillp Bustos, president of the regents board, asked whether facilities for on-line classes would be included in the remodeling and renovation projects.

Major responded that all of the projects will include “state of the art technology.”

Jamie Laurenz, vice president of academic affairs, added, however, that facilities for face-to-face classes receive priority.

Bustos said face-to-face emphasis is all right for now but “times are changing.”

The Regents on Friday also approved demolition of Harding Hall, cost estimated at $1 million, and Bernalillo Hall at $2.5 million. Major said demolition costs include environmental hazard abatement that must occur before demolition can begin. Both buildings are former residence halls and are being torn down to make room for new buildings, Major said.

Regents also gave approval for a new video display board at Greyhound Arena that would replace the existing scoreboard on the north wall of the arena’s main floor at an estimated cost of $500,000. Major said the new video board would enhance the audience experience at basketball games and other events.

In response to a question from Bustos, Johnston said basketball game attendance generally fills about two-thirds of the arena’s seats, about 4,000 seats of its 6,000-seat capacity.

In his report to the board, Johnston said pre-enrollment for the fall 2023 semester is up by 14% from this time last year. He also said that ENMU was expected to graduate 64 more students than last year in Saturday’s commencement. In a news release June 4, Eastern announced that 657 students would be receiving degrees.