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Show TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 2001 3 For Buildings, U Must Chinese Officials Study Desert Fight for State Dollars JAKE PARKINSON Chronicle News Writer Marriott Library, Engineering Building at the Top of U's List JAKE PARKINSON Chronicle News Writer During a phone conference meeting, the State Board of Regents discussed its priorities for state building funds Monday. "Our priorities are to get the remaining money needed for the engineering building and secure the remaining funds needed to design the renovation of the Marriott Library," said Dave Pershing, senior vice president for academic affairs. The Regents considered both projects. However, they selected the engineering building as this year's priority, and the library as next year's. "With aging buildings on the one hand and growing student populations on the other, the list of needs is long," said Cecelia Foxley, commissioner of higher education. On Oct. 19, Regents will decide which projects receive state funds and how much. Weber State University, Snow College and Dixie College will compete with the U for state monies. The College of Engineering is straining the walls of the Merrill Engineering Building to meet Gov. Mike Leavitt's request to double the number of engineering students in five years and triple it in eight. Money from the Regents would help build a new facility to accommodate the growth. Earlier this year, the state Legislature allocated $4.6 million to remodel the engineering building and promised additional funding in response to Leavitt's engineering initiative. The college is in the process of raising $13 million in private donations for the building, said Gerald Stringfellow, dean of the college, in a July interview. He hopes to raise additional funds for equipment and furnishings. Even though the Regents did not list it as their main priority, Pershing hopes the Regents will not forget about the Marriott Library's needs. An attachment from last month's 1 fi! i " 1 ri? ft ih m 1 saw? ft Regents meeting agenda said the building has "structural and life safety concerns that necessitates this renovation project." A Los Angeles-base- d firm that spesurin libraries cializes design of conveyed the Marriott Library and cluded the method used in building the library is outdated, Pershing said. The firm reported the construction method used to create the structure is not safe for an area like Salt Lake City with the potential for earthquakes, Pershing said. However, the library is not in any more danger today than the day it was completed in 1969, he said. Cement slabs are poured onto the ground, dried and then attached to a steel frame, creating the floors of all six stories of the library, to construct the building. The library needs $2.5 million to finish the plans for reconstruction, Pershing said. "It is very important to keep the project going," he said. The U spent $34 million dollars of state funds to add onto the library in 1996. Now, only five years later, U officials are asking the state for $30 million more to fix a potentially dangerous problem. Originally, U officials hoped to redesign the floor plan to maximize usage. Private donors provided $12 million for that project. The original renovation included replacing electrical wiring, adding more computer areas, creating group-stud- y classrooms, providing Internet services to all areas of the classlibrary and building high-tec- h It was the first time he had been to the United States, and Zheng Xuguo explained in perfect English that he Zheng said. China's interest in Utah stems from its past Utah was successful at switching from an agricultural economy to an industrial and technological economy, and China would like to imitate that transition. Last year, China created the Office of Western Development. The office's goal is to improve rural economic development while protecting and constructing ecological and environmental projects. The AOCE office aims to train government officials, educators, students i ( , i V Unable to fly to the United States for five days because of the recent terrorist attack, the group stayed in Beijing, China, waiting for permission to board a plane. "It was a long wait," Zheng said, "but it was worth it." The Academic Outreach and Continuing Education, which organized the trip, kept the group on a rigid schedule. The desert management group visited Skull Valley, the Salt Flats, Antelope Island and many other sites to learn about Utah's efforts to preserve and utilize its deserts wilderness. They also heard from lecturers on ways to control pollution. "I think the trip was very useful. China has much to learn from the United States and specifically Utah," I The U will not spend the donors' money on renovating the building's interior without correcting the structural problems of the building first, Pershing said. A study conducted in 1996 did not recognize the potentially dangerous problem, Pershing said. Then the state gave the U $34 million to construct the addition. The Legislature forbade the U to spend any money on the original part of the building. The money could only be spent on the addition. Pershing said finalizing plans to the floors of the library would take more than one year, noting construction could start at that point. Before then, the U must find " - .1.1.1111 Chinese ' 1.1 II desert planning official t " " .tin celebrates upon receiving his diploma. Mu Han tion. While there, the U opened a training office of continuing education in Beijing. Yang Jiechi, China's Ambassador to the United States, came to the U in and business representatives through exchange programs. China's State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs selected AOCE to offer training to Chinese professionals. One year ago, China's Minister of Education Chen Zhili visited the U to help create this exchange program. Last November, China's forestry leaders came to the U to learn more about forest management. In May, a group of U associates went to China to meet with Chinese officials of higher educa student body. HSC CENTER continued from page 1 students did not know or did not have enough information to make a decision. The students surveyed include about 6 percent of the According to Lowe, if a donor Is found, ASUU will reassess student opinion to make sure a new recreation center is what students want. "We just want to verify," he said. It's a year later." - million to fund it. Wynne Parry also contributed to this article. $38 to continue to build mid-Septemb- er ties between the U and China. AOCE International Academic Programs Director Lisa Xue said a group of mayors is scheduled to come for training this month, but is uncertain if they will because of the terrorists acts. jparkinsonchronicle.utaledu V He also mentioned that an outside firm would have to be brought in to ensure the accuracy of student polling. "We really want to do what the students want us to do," Lowe said. . ejohnsonchronkle.utah.edu v 1 jparkinsonchronicte.utah.edu m if i individual gourmet pizzas, creative pastas, delicious desserts and much more. Our work environment is incredibly upbeat and the benefits are awesome! CPK team members enjoy: Flexible Schedules Great Pay Excellent Training Immediate Health Benefits! 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