News
$95 million to launch ‘CSUS 2020’ expected to gain Bond Commission approval
By Governor Rell's office
Jul 23, 2008 - 2:17:42 PM

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that $95 million in bond funding to support the first phase of the 10-year, $950 million Connecticut State University system “CSUS 2020” capital improvement program is expected to gain approval when the state Bond Commission meets August 4.

The announcement was made at an afternoon news conference on the New Britain campus of Central Connecticut State University in Willard Hall – a 1960s-era building that will see major improvements under CSUS 2020.

The CSU system is comprised of Central; Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic; Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven; and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Together, the four campuses have an enrollment of more than 35,000 students, the vast majority of whom – 93 percent – come from Connecticut. Most graduates – 86 percent – go on to stay in the state to build their careers and families.

“Connecticut’s higher education system is going through a remarkable transformation – far more than a simple face lift or a scattering of new academic buildings,” Governor Rell said. “We have enhanced academic programs, added new courses of study in areas we know will be critical to our 21ST-century economy and expanded the financial aid available to help students get this all-important education. Their futures depend upon it – and so do our own.

“Connecticut has always had a well-deserved reputation for academic excellence and a well-trained, highly skilled and motivated work force,” the Governor said. “That asset is a vital element of our economy today and absolutely essential to our success in the future. This is especially true as the economy – in Connecticut and around the nation – expands in technology-dependent sectors such bioscience, pharmaceuticals and aerospace. We must also maintain our edge in businesses that have always been a Connecticut mainstay: insurance, financial services and manufacturing.

“Equally important, the CSUS 2020 program has numerous safeguards to ensure accountability and oversight,” Governor Rell said. “While the capital programs at UConn have helped make it a top academic institution, we learned some painful lessons along the way about the need for closer supervision of these projects – on the job site and in state government. These lessons are being heeded: The Department of Public Works will be signing off on the program, for example, while fire and safety inspectors will monitor construction throughout the process.

“Few – if any – investments are as critical as the ones we make in the education of our children,” the Governor said. “We are not only committed to CSUS 2020, we are committed to making sure it is done right, for the sake of our taxpayers and our children.”

CSUS 2020 follows a similar capital campaign for the University of Connecticut system. It will improve the ability of the four-campus system to train and prepare the state’s future work force in such critical areas as nursing, education and engineering.

Among the projects slated for funding in the first phase of CSUS 2020:

* CCSU: $34 million for a new classroom office building

* ECSU: $12 million for design of a new fine arts instructional center

* SCSU: $20.4 million for a new academic building and parking center

* WCSU: $80.4 million for construction of a new fine arts instructional center

In addition, the program will finance renovations, enhancements and code improvements for existing buildings on all four campuses over the next 10 years.

© Copyright by NorwalkPlus.com