News NEWS BRIEF Bill Roper named interim UNC School System president
Nov. 9, 2018
West Campus renovations will replace seven dorms and create new end zone facility Connor Beatty । @TheAppalachian । News Reporter
Supplemental reporting by Patrick McCabe, In-Depth Editor
Moss Brennan | @mosbren News Editor The Board of Governors named Bill Roper UNC School System interim president on Nov. 1. “Bill was the No. 1 choice in my mind,” UNC Board of Governors Chairman Harry Smith said in a news conference. “I have had the pleasure of working with Bill for five years.” Roper is the Dean for the School of Medicine, Vice Chancellor for medical affairs at UNC-Chapel Hill and CEO of the UNC Health Care System, according to his UNC School of Medicine biography. “A lot of hard work lies ahead, but with the help of Chair Smith and advice of President Spellings and the team of people that are here and others that will join us, I’m quite bullish on the future ahead of us,” Roper said. Margaret Spellings, former president of UNC School System, announced that she would step down on Oct. 26. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather give the reins to than Bill Roper, my friend and colleague,” Spellings said. “I know the chancellors and everyone that works in the system is thrilled.” Roper will take over as president on Jan. 1, according to UNC Systems.
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Construction near Eggers Hall on West Campus. This construction is one of many building projects happening in Boone. // Photo by Lynette Files
The University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted to allow App State to partner with private firms for planned redevelopments, which represent about $250 million in planning and construction costs. The board authorized the construction of a north end zone facility for Kidd Brewer Stadium, a west campus student housing project in association with Beyond Owners Group, RISE: A Real Estate Company and Choate and funding to the Appalachian 105 Lot and Millennial Campus expansion. The Kidd Brewer Stadium north end zone facility will be funded through donations to App State Athletics, club seat revenue, Food Services revenue and debt through Millennial Campus
designation, according to App State’s construction website. The total project cost is an estimated $45 million and will replace Owens Field House an approximately 80,000-100,000 square feet facility. “An enhanced experience for student-athletes and fans can go a long way in recruiting new students,” Doug Gillin, director of athletics, said in an Appalachian Today article. The north end zone facility will include a conference and continuing education training space, an orthopedic clinic, dining facilities, a team store, hydrotherapy, approximately 1,000 premium club seats and offices for coaches and athletics staff. The facility will be in use by the fall 2020 football season and will accommodate various
athletic and academic uses, such as athletic training and nutrition science. The West Campus housing project will replace seven residence halls: Bowie, Coltrane, Eggers, Gardner, Winkler, Justice and East, according to App State’s construction website. Funded through a public-private partnership, or P3, RISE has already started construction. The beds provided by East Hall will be replaced by West Campus beds. The current East Hall location will become green space. Current plans are to provide between 2,100 and 2,200 beds of student housing in three phases, with completion dates of fall 2020, fall 2021 and fall 2022. With a budget of $191 million, the project will include a five-building housing project and one parking deck. “The ground lease agreement with Beyond will serve as the foundation for related agreements on the development and management of the 1,770-bed and parking deck portion of the project,” App State said in a Watauga Democrat interview. Watauga County transferred ownership of the former Watauga High School property, located off N.C. Highway 105 in Boone, to App State on Sept. 29, 2017. App State is exploring options for development, including student residence halls, a day care facility and student recreation fields. Three interactive listening sessions were held in January 2018, allowing campus and community members to share ideas for the property’s use, according to App State’s construction website. Designs for a portion of the proj-
ect’s development, including competition and training facilities for the university’s track and field, tennis and softball programs are expected to cost $11.8 million, according to App State. “Other ideas under consideration for future development of the remaining portion of the property include facilities to meet the university’s needs for collaborative academic spaces, event space, parking, residence halls and additional recreation accommodations for students," App State’s vice chancellor for business affairs Paul Forte said in an interview with AppalachianToday. Although the project timeline is not yet determined, the university’s request to move forward with the design process to begin development was approved by the Board of Governors. In addition to the Appalachian 105 property, Millennial Campus expansion, including adjacent parking lots consisting of 2.1 acres at the Legends building, approximately 0.6 acres next to the Reich College of Education building and 5.5 acres at the site of Appalachian Panhellenic Hall was approved by the Board of Governors as having Millennial Campus status. “These properties are allowing us to think strategically and creatively about how we can operate as a campus and meet the needs of our region,” Chancellor Sheri Everts said in an interview with Appalachian Today. “They present us with opportunities to think and act in quicker and more nimble ways that further our research and teaching while enhancing economic development.”
