Houstonian: Gaertner honors faculty, looks to future growth

From the Houstonian:

SHSU President James Gaertner gave the equivalent of a State of the Union address at the yearly staff and faculty meeting last Friday, highlighting the past year as well as what is to come for the university.

Gaertner gave some positive numbers, citing enrollment is ready to "burst through 14, 000 students," a record number for enrollment with 800 new students.

He then touched on the more aesthetic happenings on campus, discussing the many ongoing construction projects currently underway. "Over a 42 month period, beginning in the fall of 2002 and into the end of 2005, we will have over $100 million dollars worth of new buildings," he said, going to answer the inevitable question of "how is it all going to be paid for?" The "four simple ways" that Gaertner outlined for the payment of the construction included the buildings paying for themselves (in the cases of Bearkat Village, Sam Houston Village, and the Sam Houston Parking Garage), bonds, the university's personal savings account and various student fees.