Austin Hall Renovations Receive Commendation

Today@Sam reports Austin Hall was honored by the Victorian Society in America with a commendation for the building’s recent exterior restoration.  The award was presented at society's annual meeting in Florida on April 27, 2013.

May 2013 Regents Report

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

[T]he regents authorized SHSU to add a College of Health Sciences; rename the Department of Nursing to the School of Nursing; move the School of Nursing in the College of Science to the College of Health Sciences; and move the Department of Health and Kinesiology from the College of Education to the College of Health Sciences.

"Full implementation of the Affordable Care Act in 2014 will drive the need for an expanded health professions workforce," Gibson said. "One estimate indicates a need for 400,000 new health professional in Texas during this decade in addition to replacing a rapidly aging health professions workforce that accounts for at least 10 percent of Texas jobs.

"Furthermore, recent data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that adjacent counties east and northeast of Sam Houston State University are considered the least healthiest in Texas," she said.

"SHSU currently offers only a small number of health sciences degree programs, yet there are currently 1,348 students actively enrolled in pre-nursing or other pre-professional programs, most of whom will be denied admission to the Bachelor of Science Nursing program or other programs due to limited capacity," Gibson said.

"New degree programs in the College of Health Sciences will provide expanded access to health sciences education and careers for SHSU students, especially those from adjacent counties east and northeast of Huntsville," she said.

In other business, SHSU was granted permission to add a swimming pool to the University Camp Phase 2 Project.

Active Shooter Drills On SHSU Campus Today

From the Huntsville Item:

Today at 1 p.m., Walker County law enforcement agencies along with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Office of Inspector General will participate in the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) on the SHSU campus.

Members of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Huntsville and Sam Houston State police departments and the OIG will receive training on how to respond to a number of active shooter situations through simulated, live-action drills.

The ALERRT Center at Texas State University-San Marcos was established in 2002 following the deadly mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, where two teenagers murdered 12 of their fellow students and one teacher in 1999.

The program’s curriculum has become the standard that law enforcement agencies around the country use to train for active shooter emergencies.

For the past 11 years, ALERRT has used more than $27 million in state and federal grant funding to train more than 40,000 law enforcement officers.

Today’s training session will be taught by veteran Special Weapons and Tactics team specialists with experience in active shooter situations and training.

The drills will be conducted at the Smith-Hutson Building and the Spivey House Residence Hall on the SHSU campus.

New Videoboard Coming to Sanders Stadium

GoBearkats.com announces the addition of a new video/score board at Don Sanders Stadium (which they note is the university's "modern baseball facility"):

Bud Haney and Don Sanders, both Bearkat alums, have teamed to donate $240,000 towards the $300,000 cost of the video board. Installation of the top-of-the-line board by Daktronics is set to begin this summer to be ready for the 2014 Bearkat baseball season.

Dimensions for the new board will be 31 feet, 10.4 inches tall by 36 feet wide. The board will feature a 20mm video display with 198 lines of resolution by 360 columns of resolution.

The board also will feature four sponsor advertising opportunities to provide additional revenue for the Bearkat athletic program.

Satellite Image of Dorm Fast-Tracks Its Demolition

White Hall, the 140-bed dormitory on the south side of the SHSU campus, is being fast-tracked for demolition, reports Today@Sam, due to a suggestive satellite appearance:

February 2013 Regents Report

Today@Sam reports on the updated Master Plan approved by the Texas State University System Board of Regents during their recent meeting:

The regents approved a 2013-2020 master plan update and authorized SHSU to file the update with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The most recent SHSU campus master plan for the period of 2009-2020 was approved in 2008. However, new enrollment and academic trends began emerging after the implementation and as a result, the university’s space utilization analysis did not show the improvement expected, SHSU President Dana Gibson told the regents.

“The campus infrastructure needed a comprehensive review focusing on the renewal of existing systems and expansion to serve new facilities,” she said. “A conscious effort has been made to update the master plan and build on the efforts of the 2008 plan as a planning tool to give the university the flexibility to address changing demographics and teaching approaches,” she said.

Among the proposed construction projects, some of which were previously identified, are south district residence facilities, a south dining facility, new academic buildings for nursing and biology, and an agricultural and engineering technology building.

Austin Hall Named To National Register Of Historic Places

Today@Sam writes that's the university's oldest building is on tap to receive another honor:

Austin Hall, the oldest building, and most notable landmark, on the campus of Sam Houston State University, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a federal program to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

“The application process required extensive research and documentation about the architectural distinction and historical significance of the building,” said Mac Woodward, director of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.  The application was first submitted to the Texas Historical Commission for review.  The university received official word that the building had been approved for the listing on Jan. 30.

Read the full file on the Austin Hall from nps.gov.

Houstonian: SHSU Discusses Location for Food Pantry

An interesting piece from Tuesday's (Jan. 22) Houstonian about finding a location for the on-campus food pantry:

Student Health and Counseling Center Plans Underway

Plans for the new Student Health and Counseling Center are underway according to yesterday's Houstonian:

The team met Jan. 9 to explain to the potential architects and contractors the bidding process. The architects and contractors have to submit documentation talking about previous projects that they have done and how they can contribute to the project.

The construction management team met Wednesday and looked through what people have submitted to see what their qualifications are, according to SHC director Sarah Hanel.

Hanel said on Jan. 25 the university will meet and announce the short list of companies they would like a presentation from and an opportunity to interview. By Feb. 7 the interviews will be complete and the most qualified contracting and architectural company will be selected on Feb. 8.

Jan. 25 they plan to break ground at the old King Hall location. This is across the street from their current location.

"A lot of the Health Centers traffic comes from new Lone Star Hall and a lot of the freshman dorms surrounding us as well as Old Main Market," according to Hanel.

The estimated breaking of ground is in October of this year and the building is hoped to be finished in the summer of 2014.

2013-14 Residence Life Changes

The Department of Residence Life has announced housing changes for the 2013-14 academic year. The biggest change is that beginning in Fall 2013, all first year students in the Bearkat Learning Community will live on the 4th floor of Raven Village. The BLC began in Fall 2001 and moved to Randel and Vick houses in Fall 2002. Those two houses will now be open for all classifications.

Elsewhere, academic areas – which offer 24 hour quiet areas to encourage a study environment - include the ground floor of Belvin Hall, the 3rd of Elliott Hall, or, for honors students, Spivey House.

Finally, scheduled summer repairs include:

• Elliott Hall: interior painting
• Estill and Jackson-Shaver halls: addressable smoke alarms in resident rooms
• Estill Hall: fire sprinkler system
• Shaver, Gibbs, Houston, and Jackson houses: carpet in public areas
• Bearkat Village: cameras in clubhouse and laundry rooms