Posted by Philip Poole on 2006-03-20

Some Â鶹ÊÓƵ residence facilities will be refurbished in time for the fall semester under a plan approved March 7 by the Â鶹ÊÓƵ's board of trustees executive committee.

The first phase of the multi-year refurbishment plan will take place during the summer and be completed in time for the fall 2006 semester. Phase one plans include new furnishings for the student apartments on Odom Lane and Pittman Hall. All rooms in the Â鶹ÊÓƵ's West campus residence facilities also will be painted. Other plans include replacing mattresses.

In addition to the refurbishment plan, trustees approved a recommendation to appoint Archie Lockamy as the Margaret Gage Bush Professor of Business for the 2006-07 academic year. As Bush Professor, Lockamy takes the chair formerly held by Marlene M. Reed, who retired. Lockamy has served on the Samford School of Business faculty since 2000.

Trustees also approved a new honor, The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Medallion, to recognize individuals for civic accomplishments. The purpose of the new award is to honor those who may have been "less publicly recognized to this point in their lives," said Samford President Thomas E. Corts

Recipients will be "persons clearly responsible for specific deeds of kindness, documented actions that make a difference in community and civic life," according to the recommendation. The Medallion will be presented at commencement, although it may be presented at other significant Â鶹ÊÓƵ events.

In other action, trustees approved sabbatical leaves for seven faculty members during the 2006-07 academic year.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ administrators reported on the progress of the multi-year improvement plan, "The Promise for All Generations." A new music building and recital hall are on track for completion by the fall 2006 semester, according to Don Mott, Samford's vice president for facilities. Earthwork has begun on a new 132,000-square-foot multipurpose facility that will include an arena, offices and a fitness-wellness center.

A new tennis complex on the west side of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ campus should be ready for use in the fall, Mott said. Work also continues on a campus-wide upgrading of ventilation and cooling systems that includes construction of new cooling towers.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.