The Board of Trustees of Illinois State University approved the naming of two campus facilities, a graduate degree program, roof repairs on Horton Fieldhouse, the renewal of a student health insurance contract, and the formation of a university-related organization for geography education.
The Board of Trustees approved the naming of the women’s basketball locker room in Redbird Arena as the Jill Hutchison Women’s Basketball Locker Room. The room is named after Hall of Famer Jill Hutchison, who coached women’s basketball at Illinois State for 28 seasons. A financial gift from an anonymous donor supported renovations and upgrades to the locker room facilities.
After Board approval, the athletic therapy room in Redbird Arena has been named the Lynch Family Therapy Room in recognition of a financial gift from Glen Lynch and the Lynch family. The gift supported the renovation of the space that aids in injury prevention and rehabilitation for student athletes.
A new Master of Athletic Training degree received Board approval. The new degree program will help students meet mandated professional requirements for certification as athletic trainers. The new master’s level program will replace the bachelor’s level program in athletic training in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation. The first cohort of graduate students in the program is expected to enroll in summer 2021.
Trustees authorized a project to replace the aging roof on Horton Fieldhouse. The project will include the installation of new roofing membranes, insulation, and flashing on the barrel vault roof over the fieldhouse. The $1.2 million project will be paid for through athletic reserves and institutional funds.
The Board gave its approval for the renewal of a contract with Aetna Student Health for the University’s student health and accident insurance plan for the 2019-2020 policy year. Under the new contract, the student health insurance rate will be $270 for the fall 2019 and spring 2020 semesters and $203 for the summer 2020 session. Those figures represent an increase of 3.1 percent over the previous policy year.
The Board of Trustees also authorized the creation of a university-related organization for the purposes of enhancing geography education in the state of Illinois. The Illinois Geographic Alliance has been a long-standing affiliate of the University, working in tandem with the National Geographic Society and Illinois State’s Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment. Funding for the geographic education efforts came from an endowment established by the National Geographic Society and awarded to the Alliance. The National Geographic Society has implemented a new educational strategy and agreed to dissolve the endowment and return the Illinois portion of the endowment to the Illinois Geographic Alliance. The Illinois Board of Higher Education, Illinois State University, and the Illinois State University Foundation have entered into an agreement to continue the Illinois Geographic Alliance’s work, as funded by the endowment.
