Last Monday, Central’s President, James Gaudino, met with the board of trustees in McConnell hall and addressed several current projects and issues facing the administration and the university.

Here are key updates that you may have missed:

1. The recent Science Phase II construction project is on track to be finished and ready for students by fall quarter 2016.

Additionally, Lind hall is going to be repurposed and renovated once the physics and geology department are relocated to Science Phase II.

2. Central’s biggest financial project going forward is the renovation of Samuelson Hall.

“If funded, the building will house the departments of computer science, mathematics and information technology and administration management (ITAM),” Gaudino said.

3. A new degree program, integrated energy management, was recently submitted for consideration by the faculty senate by Elvin Delgado.

If approved, the new program will be ready for students this fall. Elvin Delgado has been a professor at Central since 2012 and primarily teaches Geography classes.

4. Campus Pride named Central as one of the top 50 LGBTQ-friendly universities in the country, in providing a safe and accepting learning environment for LGBTQ students.

Campus Pride also listed University of Washington and Washington State University in the top 50 list, which was announced in August.

5. Central has the most online degrees available and the most online-only students in Washington state.

Central offers 7 undergraduate and 7 graduate programs completely online.

Additional Budget Info

Gaudino said George Clark, chief financial officer, has a project that intends to assess Central’s overhead costs. In doing so, the administration has trimmed $3 million from its base admin costs. Further, Clark has commissioned a study that will compare Central’s overhead costs with other institutions in the country.

“In almost every instance, we have found that our overhead costs are below average,” Gaudino said. “Of course we are studying those in which we are not below national norms, and we hope to have additional savings in our overhead costs so we can continue to directly support our student academic mission.”