Major renovations for Bowen Hall and the Applied Technology Center in Benthack Hall were approved when the Nebraska State College System’s Board of Trustees met in the Kanter Student Center Friday morning.
The NSCS Board members went over items for discussion and action concerning the members schools of Wayne, Peru and Chadron State Colleges at the business meeting.

A policy change brought up by the Recruiting and Retention Committee involved setting a minimum age of 17 for students living in NSCS college dorms. The issue was tabled to undergo further clarity.

The program statement for the planned Bowen Hall renovation was presented and was accepted and approved by the board.

A resolution to authorize the sale of $11.5 million in bond revenues for the Bowen renovation was approved. The renovation could raise the room and board rates of students anywhere from 4 to 5 percent to help in covering the costs.

The use of $50,000 in capital improvement fee funds to help with the costs of a new radio antenna tower at WSC was approved. The antenna is needed to replace the 43-year old tower used for the campus radio station, 91.9 The Cat.

The use of $500,000 in unappropriated cash funds for the Lindahl Drive improvement project was approved at the meeting. These funds will cover the cost of the final stage of the project and its completion.

A program statement for a renovation of the Applied Technology Center in Benthack Hall was approved, which many board members and WSC administration are particularly glad to see getting some attention.

“I’m really excited about the Applied Technology Center,” Trustee Bob Engles said. “This could be huge for the college, and could have a hug impact on the state of Nebraska. We’re training these people to become high school teachers, who are going to inspire high school students to want to develop skills that are sorely needed in this state.”

WSC President Marysz Rames gave her presidential report, in which she too expressed the importance of the Benthack renovations and the impact it will have on Nebraska’s industrial and manufacturing industries.

Rames told the board about a planned college recruiting task force of 18 members to help in outreach to the surrounding area and said that she was very impressed with WSC’s service learning projects.

WSC student trustee Matt Mullins, sporting a fashionable red bow tie, gave a student report near the end of the meeting.

He informed the board of the recent leadership and diversity conference held on campus and some of the great events that the Student Activities Board has put together. Mullins discussed WSC’s Student Senate plans to provide maintenance to the frisbee-golf course northeast of campus with the help of the industrial-tech department.

He went over some of the items discussed between Rames and student senate during their listening session in Sunday’s (Nov. 8) student senate meeting.

The possibility of adding a rock-climbing wall in the Recreation Center and providing more studying abroad opportunities to students were discussed. Student senate’s Campus and Public Relations Committee had also looked at working towards making WSC a smoke-free campus.