Southeast Missouri State University got the green light from the board of regents Friday to proceed with plans for a new residence hall.

University officials will hear presentations from architects next week, and construction could begin in March for a fall 2009 opening. The $20.5 million project will be financed by bonds.

There are 2,540 students living on campus this year, up from 2,381 in 2006. The upward trend is expected to continue.

Some freshmen are living in Greek housing run by the university due to a housing crunch, said Dr. Dennis Holt, vice president of administration and enrollment management.

"We also had to reduce the number of private rooms, which is not something we like to do," he said. "There were around 200 requests we were not able to accommodate."

The proposed 300-bed dorm at Henderson Avenue and Broadway will most likely house "learning communities," where students with similar interests or majors are grouped together. Rooms will be double-occupancy.

An initial plan discussed over the summer called for a nonresidential floor to be used for locker facilities for Houck Field, but that idea has been scrapped.

Bruce Skinner, residence life director, said layout plans have not been developed yet, but he expects suite-style housing.

"Privacy is extremely important, but at the same time the ability to socialize with friends is critical," Skinner said.

In November, the university's foundation purchased the Henderson House, formerly a private apartment complex on campus, to create additional student housing. The apartments will be converted to 40 double-occupancy rooms by fall 2008.

A "Greek Village" was proposed over the summer by school officials but was dropped in favor of the new dorm. The village would have created townhouse-style housing for Greek students near the Show Me Center and transformed their current housing into residence halls for freshmen.

"Initial costs for both projects were roughly comparable, but the long-term cost of the Greek Village promised to be much more," Holt said.

The decision to put the village on the back burner was made following a series of meetings with various campus organizations this fall, Skinner said.

Tyler Surman, a former vice president of the Interfraternity Council, said Greeks didn't support the plan wholeheartedly because of the proposed location.

"Why would we want to move farther away?" he asked.

Jennifer Belmar, former president of the Panhellenic Council, said price and equality of space were issues for some.

Building the residence hall will prevent Southeast from having to turn people away, a current risk, Holt said.

Audit approved

Regents also approved an audit of finances for the year ending June 30, 2007, that lists the university as a "low-risk" auditee. No significant problems were found except for a weakness related to reconciling tax liability accounts, but a BKD, LLP representative, the company completing the audit, said the university has already taken care of the issue.

Regents also decided the university will stop producing electricity at its power plant, instead buying it entirely from AmerenUE. The move is expected to save the university $153,500 in 2008, Holt said.

Previously, the university generated 60 percent of its electricity in conjunction with Johnson Controls International. The past few weeks the university has been using backup generators because the power plant's turbine is broken and needs half a million dollars' worth of repairs, Holt said. The university will continue using the power plant to produce steam for heating and cooling.

Other action

• The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system at the Sikeston campus will be replaced at a cost of $845,738.
• Thomas Swayne Byrd was reappointed as a university representative on the River Campus Board of Managers, and Kathy Mangels was reappointed as a university representative to the Show Me Center Board of Managers.

lbavolek@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123