Huntsville, Ala. —- The Alabama A&M University Board of Trustees on June 22 approved university officials’ proposal to allocate millions of dollars as an investment to help combat longstanding deferred maintenance issues impacting several campus facilities.
Among the capital projects slated for the upcoming academic year are facility investments that officials say will directly impact students. AAMU will invest over $12 million toward the renovation and upgrading of facilities. Facility investments include:
McCalep Vocational Building – $4.2M, Thigpen Hall – $3.1M, Frank Lewis Gymnasium – $1.9M, Normal Hills Apartments – $1.27M, Mamie Labon Foster Complex – $682,000, T.M. Elmore Gymnasium – $593,000, J.F. Drake Memorial Learning Resources Center – $425,000
Additionally, the university made significant investments in human capital. To address the increased enrollment over the past five years, approximately $500,000 was allocated to employ faculty to teach in the general education courses. The University also made significant strides in assuring the ability of the institution to recruit and retain quality faculty and staff. The process began with an assessment of the University’s relative standing in compensation for faculty and staff compared to regional peer institutions.
The resulting report of the firm engaged by the University determined that AAMU’s overall compensation level falls in the bottom quartile of peer institutions, and it has lagged in the area for more than a decade. Moving the University from the bottom quartile will require a multi-year commitment; however, effective at the onset of the upcoming fiscal year (October 1), an across-the-board salary increase of 4-5 percent will be allocated to personnel employed at the University with additional amounts directed to begin the process of increasing salaries to the market benchmarks.
Vice President for Business and Finance Clayton Gibson stated that the compensation adjustments are largely a direct reflection of $3 million in cuts and savings stemming from the University’s internal reallocation of resources and revenue generated from previous enrollment growth. This enabled the University to limit 2018-19 tuition to an increase of only $9.60 per credit hour at the undergraduate level. The modest increase continues the university’s commitment to providing an affordable quality education. There were no increases in housing. Overall, the cost of attendance for the university remains in the bottom quartile among state institutions.
The Board also extended the contract of President Andrew Hugine, Jr., through 2023 and approved an FY 2019 operating budget exceeding $185 million
He has presented at numerous professional meetings on strategies for increasing the number of minorities in the STEM disciplines and is the author of three mathematics textbooks.
The Board’s next meeting will be Friday, October 26, in Birmingham, Ala.