October 1 , 1998

Jason Owens
Staff Writer

Chancellor Francis T. Borkowski spoke with the Appalachian State Student Government Association (SGA) on Tuesday night about university construction, student enrollment and the proposed move to Division I-A football.

Recently, construction has been a major issue on the ASU campus.  There is a great deal of construction currently underway, and there are plans for more, Borkowski said.

The roof leak in the school library has drawn a great deal of attention lately.  Borkowski said that the money has been allotted by the state to fix the roof.

According to Borkowski, the main problem with getting the proposed work underway is the lack of interest by construction companies to do it. 

“We are very concerned about the roof in the library,” said Borkowski.  “Getting approval (for construction) is tortuous,” he said.

It is standard procedure for the school to advertise the needed construction and to accept the lowest bid.

He said that we have one more bid next week and that “we should keep our fingers crossed that somebody bids on the roof.”

Borkowski stated that all campus construction currently underway, including the Convocation Center, is moving smoothly.

Borkowski also addressed the issue of future construction plans for the university.

He has requested $6.7 million from the state legislature for our needs.  Of that, $3.67 million is to be used for an addition to the Rankin science building.

“I really do believe that the architect must have been smoking something when designing Rankin,” Borkowski joked.

Eight hundred thousand dollars is to be used for equipment for the science, arts, humanities and business departments.

Another $1.5 million will go towards the plans for a new library.  Borkowski said that we need a new library, because renovating the old one would be extremely difficult.

Receiving this money all depends on the state legislature passing a budget by the end of the year.  It has yet to be passed.

Another issue that Borkowski addressed is the population of the student body.  He wants to put a cap on campus enrollment of 12,500 students.  There are currently 12,300 students attending class on campus.

Borkowski wants to “keep the ambiance that we currently have.”

Borkowski briefly mentioned the proposed move of the ASU football team to Division I-A.

He said that the committee working on it would have a complete report on the issue by  the beginning of December.  The proposal would then move on to different university organizations.

He also made it very clear that he is not expressing an opinion on either side of the issue.

After Borkowski’s address, SGA followed normal business meeting procedures.