Marshall purchased the land in December for $1.5 million.
Board of Governors member Toney Stroud provided the update.
“Meetings are currently underway for the programming phase of the development,” Stroud said. “We are looking at the facility’s key components, including classroom space, office areas and green space. We anticipate the design phase should be completed by September, with a groundbreaking in January 2022 and a completed facility by October 2023.”
The building is slated to open in January 2024.
The board also approved a new policy aimed at boosting the use of small and diverse business suppliers at the university. Since 2018, Marshall has sought to develop mutually beneficial relationships with small, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses. Today’s policy adoption formalizes that process and is based on an existing federal policy.
A second policy update, GA-4 on Intellectual Property, was approved by the academic and student affairs committee and forwarded to the finance, audit and facilities planning committee for further review.
In a report to the athletics committee, Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick said approximately $4 million has been raised toward the new baseball stadium, and that he and Big Green Executive Director John Sutherland anticipate additional gifts when they can begin making in-person solicitations again. Hamrick said he expects to reengage the facility’s architect next month. He also reported that some 2,655 COVID-19 tests have been completed on athletes during the month of February, with a positivity rate of about 1%.
In terms of COVID-19 vaccinations on campus, Senior Vice President for Operations/Chief of Staff Brandi Jacobs-Jones reported that 50% of the university’s 1,634 fulltime employees who requested to be vaccinated have been fully vaccinated. Also, 75% of employees who opted for the vaccine have had at least the first dose. Vaccine clinics for employees are expected to continue throughout the month of March.
In other action, board members approved an investment earnings update and the six-month financial statement.