"The measure of a Life is its Service."
Feb. 19, 2010
SHSU Media Contacts: Julia May
Sam Houston State University was granted approval by the Texas State University System Board of Regents to begin the renovation of the Katy and E. Don Walker, Sr. Education Center during the group’s regular meeting in San Marcos Feb. 18-19.
The facility is located on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. University officials anticipate that the renovation will begin in June and be completed by the end of the summer.
“The Walker Education Center is the portal to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and is visited by thousands of citizens each year,” SHSU President Jim Gaertner told the regents.
“The museum is a major attraction for groups of area school children that come to the Center in multiple bus loads,” he said. “The Center needs to be upgraded and expanded to better accommodate group visits. The improvements will greatly enhance the appearance of the Center and make accommodations more welcoming and comfortable.”
SHSU received $560,000 from the Cultural Activities Foundation of Huntsville/Walker County to renovate, expand and improve the meeting space on the lower level of the center for events, receptions and conferences for both the campus and the community.
The project was submitted by SHSU for inclusion in the Texas State University System Capital Improvements Program, which will allow the renovation to take place before the end of the fiscal year on Aug. 31.
The expansion and improvement project will approximately double the size of the downstairs activity area, allowing as many as 250 people to attend a seated meal function. The kitchen will also be upgraded and catering ability improved.
Plans also call for the flexibility to partition the room into several meeting spaces, and other amenities within the room will be enhanced. Wireless access and the capability to use the latest in technology for meetings and events will be available.
In addition, there will be improvements to the way that visitors arrive and depart the downstairs area.
In other business the university was authorized to:
• Offer the Master of Business Administration program and the Master of Education in Special Education program via distance learning.
• Increase meal plan rates by zero to 6 percent, depending on individual meal plans, beginning in the Fall 2010 semester.
• Increase room rates by 3 percent beginning in the Fall 2010 semester.
• Change the Distance Learning Fee from $303 per course to $101 per credit hour effective immediately.
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Monday, May 3
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"The measure of a Life is its Service."