September 20, 2017
Kansas Board of Regents September meeting agenda items
Dear campus community,
The Kansas Board of Regents will meet Sept. 20-21 at the Curtis State Office Building in Topeka. The board will consider the following agenda items during the meeting.
The Regents will act on K-State's request to finalize the sale of three properties in Riley County. K-State requests approval to sell 7.51 acres of the Washington Marlatt Memorial Park on the west side of the Tatarrax Hills subdivision to Douglas and Ruth Mae Parker for $120,000. Funds from the sale will be used for the ongoing maintenance of the remaining park property. K-State requests approval to sell .838 of an acre of land near the Kansas Department of Agriculture building to the KSU Foundation for $1,830 and 17.54 acres that previously housed the Purebred Beef Unit to the KSU Foundation for $2.7 million. Proceeds will be retained in university reserves.
K-State and the K-State chapter of Kansas Association of Public Employees/American Federation of Teachers, or KAPE/AFT, completed a new agreement covering all service and maintenance employees. KAPE/AFT represents approximately 565 K-State service and maintenance employees in this bargaining unit. The agreement will result in an additional $625,000 total annual cost to the university, including increases to wages, shift differential pay and agreed upon enhancements to the university's tuition assistance program. The agreement also adjusts vacation leave accrual for covered employees to match the Kansas Board of Regents established leave plan, which allows full-time employees to earn eight hours of vacation time per pay period with a maximum yearly limit of 176 hours or 22 pay periods.
The Regents will act on K-State's request to make facility improvements to the R.V. Christian Track and Field. The project will reconfigure the playing surfaces and adjacent areas to improve practice conditions and make necessary facility updates in preparation for K-State to host the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in 2020. Updates include replacing existing asphalt and concrete, installing a new track surface and replacing the fence around the perimeter of the facility. The total project cost is estimated at $2.5 million and will be financed from private gifts.
The Regents will act on K-State's request to accept the program statement for the Trotter Hall clinical skills lab renovation. The College of Veterinary Medicine plans to develop a clinical skills laboratory to provide students with clinical skills training in a low risk, low-stress environment. Space on the first floor of Trotter Hall will be renovated to create the lab and a student study and collaboration area. The total project cost, estimated at $1,768,000, will be split equally between cash balances in the College of Veterinary Medicine general fees and private donations.
The Regents will act on K-State's request to enter into a 15-year lease-purchase agreement with the city of Manhattan for the Manhattan/K-State Innovation Center at 2005 Research Park Circle. The building currently houses the Kansas State University Institute for Commercialization, or KSU-IC, the K-State Research Foundation and the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory rabies lab. The city approved an investment from its Economic Development Fund in 2004 to construct the building. The city and KSU-IC executed a 10-year operation agreement when the building opened in 2007, which included options for the university to either purchase the building or continue the operation agreement for up to 10 years. The total lease cost of $5,645,000 will be paid from KSU-IC revenues and College of Veterinary Medicine funds. The Regents also will amend the 50-year land lease between the city and university that allowed the city to construct the building on state property.
Kansas State University requests approval to award an honorary doctorate during the December 2017 Graduate School commencement ceremony. President Richard Myers will announce the name of the individual at the meeting.
President Myers will update the Regents on the activities of the Biosecurity Research Institute Security Executive Committee.
The Regents will act on revisions to performance agreement funding guidelines to provide more flexibility and recognize the individual characteristics of each institution.
A statutory responsibility of the Kansas Board of Regents is to develop and submit to the governor and Legislature a unified request for state appropriations for all postsecondary education. For the upcoming legislative session, the Regents advocate for restoration of the 4 percent allotment first imposed in fiscal year 2017 and full funding of the Excel in Career Technical Education Initiative.
The Regents will adopt board goals for 2017-2018. Goals include identifying opportunities to expand concurrent enrollment in the state to increase opportunities for high school students, studying ways to simplify the undergraduate admission application process and hiring a new president at Fort Hays State University. The board also will support the expansion of the Apply Kansas: College Application Month campaign and designate the Council of Business Officers to collaborate on new approaches to gain efficiencies.
If you have any questions about these agenda items, please contact me at cab@k-state.edu or 785-532-6226. The meeting may be streamed live online. For live updates on all Kansas Board of Regents meetings follow @ksregents on Twitter. Agendas and complete meeting minutes also are available online.
Sincerely,
Cindy Bontrager
Vice president for administration and finance