The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

Capital Ranking for the ALANA Student Center

In a recent Student Government Association resolution, the ALANA Student Center (ASC) received Capital Ranking for future developments and improvements, SGA President Kofi Mensah said. “The SGA Senate supports giving priority to the ASC as a project that needs immediate attention at the University,” Mensah said. “The numbers of students of color continuously rise each year and a new center is needed to properly support the growing numbers of students.” Capital Ranking is the way UVM determines priorities in completing certain projects, ASC Director Beverly Colston said. “The University has to determine which capital projects are going to receive priority attention,” Colston said. “We can’t do 25 things at once, all of which need doing.” Given this resolution, the student center’s primary goal is to consider the possibility of an alternate location, Colston said. “The location of the student center is crucial to its retention,” Mensah said. The ASC is currently on Redstone Campus, but in the past two or three years, there has been a question about whether or not it is an appropriate location, Colston said. “For a few years now, we’ve been talking about the location of the ASC and the pros and cons of being on Redstone in terms of trying to achieve our mission,” she said. As more students of color attend UVM and the role of the student center gains prominence and employees want to ensure that the center is easily accessible, Colston said. “A location on main campus would be great,” she said. “People would come to us in a more vital hub, and we want to participate in that.” There is also a question about the renovation of the current ASC if a new location cannot be executed, Colston said. “There are many nice features now; it feels like a home, which is important to us,” she said. “At the same time, it’s an old building.” However, having an appropriate building on main campus would be the best of both worlds, Colston said. Capital project proposals and a ranking form for scoring the projects went out to deans, directors and vice presidents, Provost Jane Knodell said. The Capital Oversight Group (CPOG) is responsible for scoring and ranking the projects by priority, Knodell said. The CPOG is made up of the provost, Vice President for Finance and Administration Richard Cate and the Chair of the Faculty Senate Financial and Physical Planning Committee, professor Don Ross, she said. CPOG then discusses the ranking with President Daniel Mark Fogel to finalize the ranking before presenting it to the Board of Trustees for review, Knodell said.

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Capital Ranking for the ALANA Student Center