Over the Homecoming Weekend, the Gustavus Board of Trustees took action on a number of major projects, including Commission Gustavus 150 and the new academic building. The actions of the Board set the stage for Gustavus’ growth over the next several years.

The Board tentatively approved work on the new academic building to begin in the spring or early summer this year and to be completed by the 2011-2012 school year. The Board will be presented with cost estimates and a fundraising plan at its January meeting.

“We resumed working on the bidding and construction documents last spring. These will be completed over the next couple months and we solicit bids in December,” Director of Physical Plant Warren Wunderlich said. “At the same time, the administration will develop a fund raising and financing plan for this project and related projects. This, along with the final costs of the project will be bought to the Board again in January for the final approval.”

The Board also asked that it be presented with plans for the West Mall for the remodeling of the Anderson Social Science Center. With the building of the new academic building, the West Mall will begin to take shape. It will be bordered by the new academic building on one side and Olin, Carlson International Center, and Southwest Hall on the other.

The wind turbine project also took a step forward. The Board asked the College to seek a variance from the Nicollet County Board of Commissioners, who recently passed an ordinance that keeps Gustavus from building a wind turbine. By seeking a variance, the College is looking to build a turbine on campus.

However, if the County Board doesn’t approve the variance, the College is exploring the option of building a wind turbine at another location.

The Board also finalized the Commission Gustavus 150 recommendations, consolidating the list from 439 recommendations to 244. According to the Commission website, similar recommendations were merged to arrive at the final list.

The final list of recommendations were prioritized into three tiers: recommendations that should be acted on within three years, six years and ten years, respectively. They were also placed into several categories, including Cultural Perspectives, Lifelong Engagement and Tangible Resources.

The Board also began work on a Governance Task Force, headed by Trustee Mark Bernhardson. The Task Force has been charged to reexamine the Board’s membership, how it governs and how the Board communicates with the Gustavus Community.