Plans for a new on-campus building dedicated to the Integrated Health Studies program were presented to the Board of Trustees during the Finance and Facilities Committee.

The budget for the project is $26 million, with $19.5 million being paid for by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget. The university will cover the remaining $6.5 million.

Construction for the building is tentatively scheduled to begin in March 2018 with completion by July 2019. Move-in is expected to take place between the following August and November.

The project was presented by Jonathan Webb, the associate vice president of Facilities Management Administration. Webb said the goal of the project, the Center for Integrated Health Studies (CIHS), is to provide the university with the ability to support growth in both undergraduate and graduate programs.

The facility is designed to support collaboration between individual health professional programs, Webb said.

"The guiding principles of this project include an adaptable facility, and flexible classrooms to support current and future health profession educational needs," he said. "(The facility) will be student-oriented to facilitate and enhance learning with the faculty, and student peers."

The facility will be nearly 55,200 square feet and is set to be built immediately west of the existing College of Medicine building. Webb said the site was chosen because it will lead to a better integration of the surrounding academic buildings and the location offers good access to utilities.

Facilities Management is in the early stages of developing the schematic designs for the project, with first submissions to the Department of Technology, Management & Budget scheduled to be made in early May.

Facilities Management will return to the Board of Trustees for their its June meeting before finalizing the design, development and construction documents in the following months.

Plans made to alleviate the estimated two-year $20 million budget deficit were also discussed at the meeting. Barrie Wilkes, vice president of Finance and Administration, said the proposed cuts will see $9.6 million of reductions towards the service centers.

When that number is added to the combined $9.1 million being cut from other areas of campus, it will add up to an estimated $18.7 million in savings.

Trustees-Student Liaison Committee

Leading members of the Student Government Association, Program Board and Greek Life met with the Board of Trustees for the annual Trustee-Student Liaison Committee. The purpose of the meeting was for the student organizations to give an overview of what they have achieved over the 2016-17 school year and to introduce the incoming student leaders for next year.

The meeting began with a presentation by outgoing SGA President Jazmin Biernat, who provided an overview of 18 pieces of legislation that SGA passed over the past academic year.

Anna Owens, the incoming SGA president, gave a presentation on what she hopes to achieve during her time as president. Running with incoming Vice President Derek Sturvist, Owens reiterated the four goals of her campaign: advocacy, sustainability, service and communication.

Owens said she is already working towards reaching out to as many registered student organizations as possible. Owens said only 105 out of the 300 RSOs on campus are represented by SGA. She added it is a problem she'll work towards amending.

"This means that we are doing something wrong," she said. "Maybe we're not reaching out to all of the RSOs, or we're not making meetings engaging enough. There is some sort of disconnect between SGA and the student body. This is something that Derek and I are really trying to focus on."

incoming Program Board president Marissa Mattioli, Greek Life representative Max Sarvello and Residence Hall Assembly representatives Allan Cramer and Jasmine Alvarado were also present.

The Board of Trustees meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in the Bovee University Center President’s Conference Room.