May 2000 Regents Report

A contract for a new $8.7 million classroom/office building and the first stage of a $1 million Sam Houston Memorial Museum exhibits renovation were approved Friday by the Sam Houston State University board of regents, according to Today@Sam:

The new four-story building will contain 62,000 square feet of space for the departments of history, library science, and psychology, as well as a computer laboratory, testing center, honors laboratory, and reading, writing and learning enrichment center. It will contain a 300 seat lecture hall. The construction contract was awarded to ICI Construction Inc., of Spring. Work is expected to begin about Aug. 1, with completion in the fall of 2001.

Southwest Museum Services of Houston was hired to begin the first phase of a project estimated to eventually cost $1,050,000, to completely re-design the exhibits area of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. The first phase will cost $250,000 and will be limited to the rotunda area. The centerpiece of the rotunda will be a scaled-down copy of David Adickes' 67-foot statue of Sam Houston, located on Interstate 45 in south Huntsville. Also in the rotunda will be dioramas depicting Sam Houston as a youth, Houston at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, and Houston as president of the Republic of Texas.

February 2000 Regents Report

Today@Sam has their report on the quarterly meeting of the Texas State University System Board of Regents:

New fees and rates in housing, for meal plans, the general use fee, and for a new Saturday MBA program, as well as two construction and renovation projects were approved Friday by Sam Houston State University's governing board. Most room rates will increase about $75 per semester, or 8.8 percent.

The rate for White Hall, which was $845 prior to the renovation now underway, will increase to $1,500 per semester. The renovation is expected to be completed by July. The new White Hall two person suite arrangement reduces the facility's overall occupancy and brings it more in line with apartment-type off-campus housing in amenities and cost.

The board also authorized the construction of a metal building for the Phase II Agricultural Mechanization Center, which will provide 4,325 square feet of new space for tractor/equipment repair instruction, hydraulics/electronics/power train instruction, tool storage, and a steam cleaning room. Construction is expected to be completed by early summer, at a cost of $299,900.

The board authorized the university to employ Dabhi Engineering Associates, Inc. of Houston to design safety improvements for Johnson Coliseum, including emergency lighting for a safe evacuation of people from the building if necessary, and installation of a back-up generator. Additional safety items will include automatic smoke and heat detectors and upgraded alarm system, all at a cost of $211,000.

In Memoriam: Kelly Edgar McAdams

Kelly Edgar McAdams, a former Huntsville resident who was known to be a great supporter of historical structures, family history and education, died in Austin on Wednesday at the age of 96. McAdams, along with his wife, Ina May Ogletree McAdams, owned and operated a successful real estate and timber investment business in Austin, East Texas and North Carolina for 50 years. Ina preceded her husband in death in 1992. The McAdams Tennis Center was named in honor of the couple's many contributions to the campus.

Today@Sam: SHSU at 120

It was on October 10, 1879 that the Sam Houston Normal Institute opened its doors with rather humble beginnings - one classroom building, four faculty members and 110 students, all of whom were aiming to become teachers.

Today, exactly 120 years later, Sam Houston State University has an enrollment of more than 12,000 students, faculty and staff in excess of 500 and a wide variety of degree programs including 91 for undergraduates, 76 graduate-level and three doctoral programs.

While it may have started with only a five-acre tract, SHSU now boasts of more than 200 buildings, including 36 residence halls, married housing and sorority housing units, on more than 1,200 acres.

Today@Sam: New Mental Health Center to Serve Community

The Psychological Services Center, which will provide the community with mental health services, opened in Huntsville on Tuesday. According to clinic director Mary Alice Conroy, it will cater to the public, the courts, attorneys and the criminal justice system. Although the new building is located on the campus of Sam Houston State University, the school has its own counseling center for students. The Psychological Services Center will be aimed at others in the community. The business had been in the planning stages since 1997, when the university gained approval from the State Higher Education Coordinating Board for a doctoral program in Forensic Clinical Psychology.

Today@Sam: August 1999 Regents Report

Today@Sam has their report on the quarterly meeting of the Texas State University System Board of Regents: