SAN MARCOS – The Texas State University System Board of Regents has approved preliminary plans for a permanent campus for the Round Rock Higher Education Center and ground will be broken on the $27 million construction project March 22.

Meeting Feb. 26-27 in Beaumont on the campus of Lamar University, the regents approved the preliminary plans prepared by Graeber, Simmons and Cowan Architects of Austin and directed the firm to develop detailed plans and specifications for the contractor, Hensel-Phelps Construction Co.

The project will include construction of the initial campus building with associated parking, landscaping and infrastructure. Construction will begin following the March 22 ground breaking, and the building is scheduled to open in August 2005.

The Round Rock Higher Education Center is a partnership of Texas State University-San Marcos, Austin Community College and Temple College at Taylor that provides higher education opportunities in North Austin and Williamson County.

In other action related to Texas State, the board:

• Appointed members of the Planning Committee for Texas State’s Master Plan. Those committee members are Don Flores, Patricia Diaz Dennis, Kent Adams, Nancy Neal, Denise M. Trauth, William A. Nance, Robert D. Gratz, James D. Studer, Lamar Urbanovsky, Patrick Sullivan, William Stone, Shelley Nottingham, Dan O’Leary, Phil Neighbors and Barrie Breed.
• Approved a special employment contract with head football coach David E. Bailiff.
• Acknowledged gifts to the university of $5,000 or more.

A gift-in-kind of software and licenses was received from the Oracle Corp. in support of the Health Service Research Department in the College of Health Professions.

A gift was received from the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation in support of the Grosvenor Scholars Endowment.

A gift-in-kind of items to be included in the Wittliff Gallery was received from the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

An anonymous donor established a charitable gift annuity in support of the Robert and Brita Northcutt Scholarship in Mathematics.

Dorothea Winek made a donation in support of the Joseph E. Winek Construction Scholarship.

Susan Shaunfield made a contribution in support of the College of Business Administration.

Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson made a contribution in honor of longtime National Geographic leader Gil Grosvenor in support of the Grosvenor Scholars Endowment.

Cathey E. Moore and James Elliott Moore donated to support the Cathey E. and James E. Moore Endowed Scholarship.

A gift-in-kind was donated by Nike Inc. in support of the Celebrity Classic.

CenturyTel contributed in support of the end zone complex.

Robert S. and Betty M. Hackney contribute in support of the Texas State track program.

The Texas Chapter of the American Foundrymen’s Society donated in support of an endowed professorship in cast metals engineering.

The Summerlee Foundation contributed to support the Center for the History of Texas Music.

Grande Communications made a donation to fund expenses incurred due to the university’s name change.

Head Paint & Wallcovering made a contribution in support of the Texas State baseball program.

The Strahan Foundation made a donation in support of the T Association.

An anonymous donor made a contribution in support of the geoprofiling project in the Department of Criminal Justice.

Irene L. Abernathy donated in support of the Elton Abernathy Scholarship.

The Cecilia Young Willard Helping Fund contributed in support of the Southwestern Writers Collection.

Mr. and Mrs. Jim Dotson donated so increase the Dotson Family Scholarship.

J.L. Lewis made a donation to support the Texas State golf program.

The San Antonio Conservation Society made a contribution in support of the Edwards Aquifer Research Scholarship Fund.

Darlene H. Schmidt made a donation to support the Garden of Achievement.

Mark P. Taetz donated to benefit the Gildea Endowed Fund in the Department of Geography.

The Target Corp. donated to support the Career Services Placement Office.

Larry F. Wright made a donation to support the Air Force ROTC program.

CenturyTel made a donation to the Bobcat Athletic Foundation for athletic sponsorship.

• Authorized the board chair, vice chair or chair of the local committee to award a construction contract for window replacement at Jackson Hall at a cost not to exceed $600,000.
• Authorized the university to issue purchase orders not to exceed $500,000 for upgrades and expansion of departmental microcomputer laboratories.
• Acknowledged the change of the name of the university from Southwest Texas State University to Texas State University-San Marcos.
• Awarded a five-year contract extension for dining services to Chartwell’s.
• Awarded a vending services contract to Accent Vending Co.
• Set room and board rates for fall 2004 and spring and summer 2005 as well as rental rate for Riverside Apartments, Comanche Hill Apartments and Clear Springs Apartments.
• Authorized the university to grant an electric utility easement to Pedernales Electric Cooperative on the University Camp property in Wimberley.
• Approved out-of-state and out-of-country study for courses in New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico, France, Italy, England, Sweden and Germany.
• Closed seven university financial accounts and transferred their balances to other accounts.
• Approved routine personnel matters and budget adjustments, set course fees and received 12th class day reports and internal audit reports.

The TSUS Board of Regents governs the following eight components: Angelo State University in San Angelo, Lamar University in Beaumont, Lamar State College-Port Arthur, Lamar State College-Orange, Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas State and Sul Ross State University in Alpine, including the Rio Grande College with campuses in Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Uvalde.

Members of the nine-member board are Alan Dreeben of San Antonio, chair; Kent Adams of Beaumont, vice chair; Patricia Diaz Dennis of San Antonio; John E. Dudley of Comanche; Dionicio “Don” Flores of El Paso; Bernie Francis of Carrollton; James A. “Jimmy” Hayley of Texas City; Nancy R. Neal of Lubbock; and Pollyanna A. Stephens of San Angelo.