TOPEKA — The Kansas Board of Regents met Wednesday in Topeka and several items related to Kansas State University were on the agenda.
Provost Charles Taber updated the board on the hire of Chris Klieman as the new head football coach and shared his appreciation for Coach Bill Snyder. After receiving a first reading on a legislative request to sell property, the board approved a motion on final read Wednesday. The 4.4 acres of land proposed for sale is adjacent to the K-State Grain Science Campus and Agronomy Farm and Experimental Fields. The property is contiguous with land owned and under development by the Kansas State University Foundation. The area is part of the North Campus Corridor.
The Board of Regents Wednesday approved K-State’s request for a name change for the College of Engineering. It will be named in honor of alumnus Carl R. Ice. Ice is the president and CEO of BNSF Railway and the vice chairman of the KSU Foundation Board of Directors.
Other items approved Wednesday included the housing and food service rates for the 2019-2020 academic year. The typical housing rate will increase by 1.9 percent, or $100. The typical dining rate will increase by 4.2 percent, or $170.
K-State also received approval to amend the capital improvement plan and to accept the program statement for the construction of the multicultural student center. The estimated project cost is $5.5 million and will be funded from private gifts. As of October 2018, $4.2 million has been raised to fund the project.