The University of Alabama system made history Friday morning by selecting Karen Brooks to serve as the president pro tempore of the Board of Trustees for the next year. Brooks will be the first woman to serve in this position in the Board’s 183-year existence. Brooks was elected by a unanimous vote of the board.
Brooks will replace Paul W. Bryant, Jr., who finished his third year at president pro tempore Friday. Three years is maximum time someone can serve as president pro tempore.
Trustee Finis St. John said he was honored to nominate Brooks.
“She has proven she is willing to do the hard work that is necessary,” he said.
Brooks is a native of Tuscaloosa and graduated from The University of Alabama in 1972 with a degree in social work. She currently serves as the president and co-chairman of Phifer Incorporated.
Brooks said she was extremely humbled to step into her new position.
“I know I have huge shoes to fill, and I am going to do everything I can to make my feet grow really fast,” she said.
The Board of Trustees also elected a new trustee, Barbara Humphrey, to serve as a representative of the seventh congressional district, replacing trustee Andria Scott Hurst, who retired from the board Friday due to age. Humphrey is an alumna of The University of Alabama at Birmingham and is the founder and head coach of Speedy City Summer Track Club. Humphrey currently serves as the head track and field coach at Simmons Middle School in Hoover.
Both Brooks and Humphrey will step into their new positions at the next board meeting in November.
The Board also voted Friday to approve the resolution to demolish Zeta Tau Alpha and Gamma Phi Beta’s sorority houses on Magnolia Drive to allow space for Zeta Tau Alpha’s new 40,000 square foot house in their meeting Thursday.
Gamma Phi Beta will move to their new location on Paul W. Bryant Drive, leaving the old house empty. Zeta Tau Alpha plans to demolish both their existing house and the adjacent Gamma Phi Beta house to construct a larger house on the lot. The projected budget for the construction is $13,892,375 and will be funded by a loan from the University to the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter.
Mike Lanier’s request to increase the budget for construction on Thomas-Sewell Stadium was also approved by the Board. The budget will increase from $35 million to $42,632,920, nearly a 22 percent increase. The project will be funded by gifts, the Crimson Tide Foundation and Intercollegiate Athletic Funds in the amount of $27,632,920 and 2014 general revenue bonds in the amount of $15 million.
The Board approved all resolutions of the physical properties committee, the finance committee and the academic affairs, student affairs and planning committee.
The construction of a Starbucks on Paul W. Bryant Drive was budgeted at $5.2 million, and it will feature both outdoor seating and a larger pedestrian area. Lanier said that there would be considerations made for traffic, including a crosswalk with a traffic light, in order to ensure the safety of students in the area.
“Hopefully this will create a better environment for pedestrians and drivers to obey the law,” Lanier said.
The University of Alabama will see a $47.47 million increase in the budget for the 2015 fiscal year totaling $786 million. The budget proposal includes a $62 million increase in operating revenue, totaling $661 million. The total 2015 operating budget for the UA System will be $3.8 billion, an increase of approximately $200 million from last year. The finance committee allocated $301 million for scholarships at all University of Alabama schools.
The proposal also showed a nearly $100 million higher than anticipated revenue from tuition and fees in fiscal year 2014. While the 2014 budget anticipated $473.6 million in revenue from tuition and fees, the University is projected to take in $570.6 million by the end of September.
Amendments to the UA Student Handbook will be made in the upcoming year. These changes include updates to departments that may have undergone name changes, such as the Office of Student Conduct, Student Involvement and Leadership and the SOURCE Board of Governors. In addition, updates and corrections were made to ensure that the handbook accurately reflects current policies that are found on the UA website. These corrections include Academic Integrity, ADA compliance, EEOC and the Student Appellant Process. The UA Code of Conduct and Social Event Guidelines were also updated. According to Vice-Chancellor Charles Nash, the changes to the student handbook are not expected to have a significant impact.
“The changes to the student handbook were fairly benign,” Nash said at the academic affairs, student affairs and planning committee meeting Thursday. “We are just updating.”
