Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences to cost $22 million

FLAGSTAFF – The Arizona Board of Regents approved a $22 million proposition to include the new Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The new school will be funded entirely by donor gifts and housed within the Family and Consumer Sciences building.

Soyeon Shim, director of family and consumer sciences, said she and President Robert Shelton have already raised $7 million toward the project.

Shelton said that he believes the school will be beneficial to students interested in Arizona retail or business programs.

Vet building to get better A.C., heat

Regents approved a $2.3 million project to enhance the capability of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in the Microbiology building.

Rooms originally designed to be classrooms have recently been used as laboratories, enhancing the need for adequate heating and cooling.

Work for these improvements should begin in early 2007 and should be completed before the start of the fall 2007 semester.

New record-keeping system approved

The regents appropriated $732,472 toward a new system for housing, filing and viewing records, which will be implemented within the next two years.

The Kuali Research Administration Project will replace the UA’s current records system, SPINS.

SPINS is more than 20 years old and is considered the most vulnerable of the UA’s major administrative systems, according to regents’ reports.

Shelton said that he is excited to be working toward the implementation of this low-cost program.

Most universities spend millions of dollars on record keeping systems, Shelton said.

The program will be primarily centralized to administration but accessible by various university departments, Shelton said.

The program will also be accessible, and possibly shared with, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University.

“”This is a multi-institution effort to use open-source software and make sure that our records are up-to-date and functioning,”” Shelton said.

More resident, fellowship training for College of Medicine

Regents approved a request on behalf of the UA College of Medicine in Tucson that would allow more resident and fellowship training programs for the school’s students.

A national agency is expected to give the school a license to extend its programs after the board gave its approval.

The medical school plans to work with the University Physicians Healthcare Hospital at Kino Campus to provide more opportunities for residencies and fellowships at that facility.

Such training programs currently exist only at the University Medical Center.

Phil Malan, vice dean of academic affairs for the College of Medicine, said because members of those training programs also teach other students, the move will help bring more educational opportunities to students in Tucson.

Malan said the new programs will probably start in summer 2008.