Atlanta — June 11, 2002

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents today approved its annually revised five-year Major Capital Outlay Priority List. The new list incorporates three new building projects, totaling $91.5 million, into the existing list of 19 University System of Georgia major facilities needs. The revised list, containing 22 projects totaling $501.5 million in major construction projects, will serve as the capital funding request for the 2003 Legislative Session.

The three new projects added to the list include:

• Armstrong Atlantic State University’s $22.5 million Academic Classroom Building;
• The University of Georgia’s $24 million Special Collection’s Library; and
• Georgia Institute of Technology’s $45 million Advanced Clean Room Complex.

The capital list, revised each June by the 16-member Board of Regents, will be included in the regents’ Fiscal Year 2004 budget request. Submitted to the state’s Office of Planning and Budget in September, that request will be utilized by Gov. Roy Barnes in developing his budget recommendations for the next fiscal year, which will be considered by the state legislature when it convenes for the 2003 Legislative Session.

“The board can act with confidence, knowing it is submitting to the governor a true list of the System’s very highest priorities in terms of facilities,” said Chancellor Thomas C. Meredith. “This process is highly credible. For six years now we’ve used it to rank our capital priorities based on clearly defined and well supported guidelines.”

The updated list came after presidents representing 11 University System institutions made their individual cases for consideration to the Board of Regents. After hearing the presidents’ presentations of their institution’s top facility need, the regents individually evaluated and ranked the 11 projects. The projects were weighed against their adherence to the board’s 10 guiding principles for capital facilities and its updated Strategic Plan.

The eleven projects, totaling $290.6 million in state funds and $67 million in campus funds, were screened from 66 proposals submitted by campus presidents. In evaluating the proposals, campus and University System Office staff also adhered to the guiding principles for facilities adopted in 1997. These principles place priority on facilities that accommodate existing and future enrollment growth and required academic programs. The highest priority is given to instructional facilities, followed by academic support facilities, student support buildings, then finally administrative and infrastructure needs.

The revised Major Capital Outlay Projects List is designed to accommodate new funding requests from the University System’s campuses, replacing the dollar amount of projects funded in the Fiscal Year 2002 Supplemental Budget. The new projects are added to the end of the existing list.

During the meeting the board also reviewed and approved a change in non-state funding from $8 million to $12 million in private funds for project number 5 on the existing Capital Priority List – Phase II of the School of Art at UGA. From last June’s list of 22 rank-ordered projects approved by the Board in June 2001, the General Assembly funded the top three projects for construction in its Fiscal Year 2002 Supplemental Budget at a cost of $91.5 million, as well as design funding totaling $2.85 million for the next five ranked projects.

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