Building Dedications, Groundbreakings UPPS No. 08.03.02

and Similar Events Issue No. 6

Effective Date: 6/14/2010

Review: October 1 E6Y

01. POLICY STATEMENTS

01.01 The purpose of this policy is to establish the procedures for ceremonies associated with the groundbreaking, opening, re-opening or renaming of university buildings.

01.02 Regents' Rules determine policies concerning naming a facility and which text to include on a plaque for that building (see Chapter III in Regents' Rules).

02. DEFINITIONS

The following terms will be used to identify the various kinds of ceremonies, all of which are presidential events, associated with the groundbreaking, opening or re-opening of facilities on the Texas State campus:

02.01 Groundbreaking – A facility groundbreaking is a special event held in conjunction with the beginning of construction of a major campus facility.

02.02 Dedication – A facility dedication is a special event held to celebrate the completion of a new facility. This ceremony may or may not include a ribbon-cutting.

02.03 Rededication – A facility rededication is a special event held to celebrate the completion of a major facility renovation or expansion. Depending on the timing of the event, this ceremony may or may not include a ribbon-cutting.

02.04 Renaming – A facility renaming is a special event held to celebrate the assignment of a new name to an existing facility. While renaming ceremonies are normally held in association with a significant gift to the university, in rare situations, renaming ceremonies may be held in celebration of other special occasions, e.g. Centennial Hall. A renaming does not normally include a ribbon-cutting.

02.05 Ribbon-cutting – A facility ribbon-cutting is a special event held in association with the opening of a new or renovated facility (normally, in close proximity to the actual opening date of the facility for operations). A ribbon-cutting may be a part of a dedication or rededication ceremony or it may be held as a stand-alone event in place of a dedication or rededication ceremony.

03. PROCEDURES

03.01 Types of building ceremonies include:

a. New buildings

1) The ceremony celebrating the dedication of a new building may be a free-standing event or may be held in conjunction with a meeting of the Board of Regents on campus.

2) The decision about whether a building dedication will be held in conjunction with a Board of Regents meeting on campus will be made by the president in consultation with the vice president for Finance and Support Services in association with their discussion of the need to appoint a building dedication committee (see Section 03.02 a. below).

b. Renamed buildings and rededication of renovated or reconstructed buildings

1) The university will normally not hold the dedication of a renamed building or rededication of renovated or reconstructed buildings in conjunction with a Board of Regents meeting.

2) While the university welcomes Board of Regent’s participation, this will likely involve only representatives of the local committee of the Board of Regents.

c. New or renamed renovated or reconstructed building dedications that honor major donors may require special consideration for ceremony scheduling, involvement of regents and invitation list development.

03.02 Formulation and Approval of Plans

a. Upon approval of a contractor for a new building or immediately following the President's Cabinet meeting that recommends the renaming of a building, the vice president for Finance and Support Services (VPFSS) will call to the president's attention the need to appoint a event steering committee. The VPFSS Office will retain the procedure documents for appointment of the dedication committee.

b. Every steering committee will include the VPFSS or the VPFSS’ designee, the special assistant to the president or other president’s office designee, the director of Special Projects, the director of Auxiliary Services, the associate vice president for Facilities, and other members as deemed appropriate by the VPFSS.

c. The event steering committee will develop plans and a recommended budget for review by the President's Cabinet and approval by the president. The VPFSS Office will retain the guideline documents for formulation of plans.

d. Every May, the VPFSS will contact the director of Special Projects to obtain an estimated budget for building celebrations anticipated in the following year for inclusion in the discretionary budget approved by the president.

03.03 Follow-up and Evaluation

a. Within one week following the dedication, the dedication committee chair will prepare appropriate letters of appreciation to all distinguished guests for the president's signature.

b. Within two weeks following the ceremony, the chair will call a meeting of the committee to evaluate procedures and policies. The committee will forward a final evaluation to the president as soon as possible but no later than six weeks following the building celebration.

04. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS

04.01 Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:

Position Date

Vice President for Finance and October 1 E6Y

Support Services

Director, Special Projects October 1 E6Y

05. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

This UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents UPPS policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

Vice President for Finance and Support Services; senior reviewer of this UPPS

President