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At the Friday, Feb. 26, Board of Regents meeting, the Board discussed Spring enrollment numbers, a grant dedicated to improving mental health initiatives on campus and other updates.

Spring 2021 Enrollment
Don Robertson, vice president of student affairs, said the total headcount for the spring semester showed a decline in enrollment of about 2 percent compared to last year. Robertson said enrollment has increased in graduate students but has decreased in undergraduate.

“Some of that is reflective because of what’s happening in the high schools, and our Racer Academy numbers are down a bit,” Robertson said. “Part of that is the success of our students. We graduated more students this past fall than we did in the fall of ‘19, and of course, that’s what we want to do, we want the students to graduate.”

Since many high schools are not meeting in person, Robertson said the ability to get into the high schools to discuss Racer Academy classes and college has heavily impacted these numbers. The Paducah and Henderson regional campuses saw an increase for in-person enrollment, and other regional campuses are maintaining enrollment numbers.

At the Admitted Student Kickoff, which replaced Admitted Student Weekend with a virtual option, 672 students registered with 28 states represented, Robertson said. For Fall 2021, applicants for scholarships have increased by 13 percent, housing applications increased by 54 percent and an increase in the 18 counties where 45 percent of students apply from.

Robertson said 185 faculty and staff have signed up for an 8 hour class that focuses on mental health and how to recognize and address this with students. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education approved a $70,000 grant for the University to provide funds, resources and materials to the Counseling and Psychological Centers, as well as other mental health initiatives on campus such as Active Minds. The grant will also be allocated to providing hotspots to students with no or harder online access.

Campus updates
Many new programs have been added with one being a new respiratory therapy program, the first of its kind in the country and is offered in conjunction with the Madisonville campus.

“The model for that is a two plus two program,” said Regent Bob Pervine. “The model we’ve built with Madisonville for that is really the first in the nation. Other programs will probably use our model to develop similar two plus two programs.”

Many other programs like cybersecurity, agriculture education and a number of others were also added or had minor changes made.

Lovett Auditorium Renovations
Lovett Auditorium is undergoing major updates, one of which is new seating. The new set of seats will lower the capacity in the auditorium by 300, but President Bob Jackson thinks the renovations to the building are crucial.

“When we get finished with this project, it’s going to really change Lovett Auditorium as it should be,” Jackson said. “This is our performing arts center. I can’t overstate the importance of this particular building to the institution.”

Late September is the tentative completion date set for the renovations.

“We have an estimated completion date in late September for the actual construction, but we don’t have all the details on the new seating yet,” said Director of Facilities Management Jason Youngblood. “We anticipate the entire project being done during the fall semester and the building being opened by the Christmas season or right after in the spring semester.”

Board Approvals
President Jackson and provost Tim Todd approved policy updates on sabbatical leaves and recommended it for Board approval. There are nine total sabbaticals being requested, all one semester sabbaticals. The Board unanimously approved.

The Board also unanimously approved the Ad Havoc Presidential Evaluations Process Review Committee’s motion to adopt an electronic method as part of the presidential evaluation process. The electronic method allows for anonymity, said Regent Eric Crigler.

The Board also unanimously approved the salary roster.

KERS Pension Bill
Jordan Smith, executive director of governmental and institutional relations, provided updates on the KERS Pension Bill, or House Bill 8. Smith said the bill would change KERS nonhazardous employer contribution rates and would go from a total percentage of payroll to level dollar funding.

“For Murray State, the change in the calculation would increase our rates from currently 49.47 percent to 98.8 percent,” Smith said. “That’s about a $4 million increase per fiscal year for us. As the president has said, we have been working diligently with our regional legislators, we’ve met with the bill sponsor, we’ve met with many on this bill and we provided them with all kinds of pension information. The legislator really wants to get it right, and they’ve asked us for suggestions and tweaks, and it has passed the House, but right now we’re waiting to see what tweaks will be made to that bill in the Senate.”

Click here for the full live stream of the board’s meeting. The next quarterly Board of Regents meeting will take place on Friday, June 4.