Indiana State University fared well in facility funding in the legislative session that ended Wednesday, with $101.5 million in state funding for renovation and expansion of an academic building and a renovation project/convention center at Hulman Center.
It did not fare as well in its operating request, which will decline $1.4 million over the next two years, to $65.9 million in 2016-17.
In facility requests, ISU received $37.5 million in state funding for a renovation and convention center project at Hulman Center and $64 million for a renovation and expansion project for its College of Nursing, Health and Human Services. Both would involve bonding, with the state providing reimbursement of the long-term debt.
State Rep. Bob Heaton, R-Terre Haute, who serves as the majority whip in the Indiana House of Representatives, says the state funding “is a historic high” for ISU. “These funds are crucial to the growth of this university and benefits the entire Wabash Valley.”
Heaton spearheaded the effort for Hulman Center and ISU through the Indiana House.
State Sen. Jon Ford, R-Terre Haute, said ISU received approval for $139 million in facility projects, with the state funding $101 million. As far as Hulman Center funding, “I think we made a good case that this is a regional project” that will draw from a large area and bring many people to Terre Haute. Also, local partners worked collaboratively, with legislators, to help win approval for the funding.”
The university can bond up to $75 million for the Hulman Center project; the state will fund a maximum of half, and the rest would have to be funded locally. How the local portion will be financed is yet to be determined, but it is expected to involve ISU, the city, Vigo County and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“We’re very excited about the capital budget,” ISU President Dan Bradley said Thursday. “It’s a great outcome for the university and the community. ... I am sure there are a few other campuses [in Indiana] that wish they would have received that kind of support.”
The state Senate version of the Hulman Center proposal passed, which means $12.5 million less in state funding than initially anticipated; the House version called for $50 million, the Senate version, $37.5 million.
ISU’s board of trustees can’t lease or transfer any ownership interest in Hulman Center until it is reviewed by the state budget committee. As far as local funding for the project, Bradley anticipates local partners will begin over the next several weeks working together to develop a plan.
Bradley believes the “absolute earliest” that construction work would begin on the Hulman Center project is late 2016.
Diann McKee, ISU vice president for business affairs, praised the efforts of state Heaton and Ford to secure funding for Hulman Center in the budget.
As far as the locally funded portion, “many decisions will need to be made on this project,” she said. “There are various ways these types of partnerships can be structured. Over the course of the next few weeks and months, we need to determine what is best.”
She anticipates ISU will issue $37.5 million in bonds for the portion the state will reimburse; questions remain about how the locally funded portion will be financed. Also, the project will require various approvals by the ISU board of trustees, the state and local partners.
There has previously been discussion about creating a nonprofit organization that would oversee the combined Hulman Center and new convention center. A board would consist of representation from local partners that contribute to financing.
As far as the $64 million for the College of Nursing, Health and Human Services, Bradley said, “It clearly is a great outcome for the university. We’ve added all these new programs, and being able to upgrade the facilities and meet the needs of growing numbers of students in those health care areas is wonderful.”
The College of Nursing, Health and Human Services is located on the west side of ISU’s campus between Fourth and Fifth streets and is growing in terms of enrollment and academic programs. It currently is spread over campus in various buildings, and a new plan would allow for all but one department to be housed under one roof.
Jack Turman, dean of the college, believes the project will be “transformative” for the college and university. The renovated, expanded facility “will be a great place to educate our students with modern technology, do cutting edge health research and provide venues for community members to optimize their health and wellness,” Turman said.
According to McKee, the project “has been a significant part of the campus master plan since 2009. This was the third biennial budget we had requested funding for that project. We’re very pleased that [it is] now going to come to fruition, and we’ll have an opportunity to renovate a facility that is really critical to one of our fastest-growing colleges.”
The design now calls for a new, attached building west of the existing facility, which will require some reconfiguration of Fourth Street; that portion of Fourth Street was vacated by the city “some time ago,” McKee said. The rest of the facility used by Health/Human Services programs will be renovated.
“We have a great deal of design work to complete,” McKee said. Also, various state approvals will be needed before construction could begin, perhaps in summer or fall 2016.
ISU operating budget didn’t fare as well
The news isn’t quite as rosy as far as ISU’s operating budget, which will decline by $1.4 million over the next two years. This year, it is $67.3 million. It will decline to $66.2 million in 2015-16 and $65.9 million in 2016-17.
“Over the next few weeks, we’ll determine how to incorporate these numbers into our overall budget planning,” McKee said. The budget for next year will be presented to ISU trustees in June. “We’ll have to make some decisions about priorities and how we absorb the reductions.”
According to Bradley, “We’re going to be short [of funds], and we’ll have to look seriously at our budget and find those dollars. We don’t feel we will lay people off, but there will be reallocation [of funds] internally,” or cuts.
ISU officials weren’t surprised by the reduction in operating funds, but they were “disappointed,” the president said. They had hoped to keep funding at the current level. He attributes the decrease to the state’s performance funding measures; ISU doesn’t fare as well as other state universities in four-year graduation rates.
ISU does expect to improve its graduation rates in upcoming years, but it also disagrees with the state’s methodology, which “penalizes ISU relative to some other institutions,” Bradley said. “We will continue to try to get them to modify” that methodology, he said.