Congratulations to our five colleagues who were granted tenure by the Board of Control today:

• Byungil Ahn, assistant professor of history
• Daniel Gates, assistant professor of English
• Jeremy Knous, assistant professor of kinesiology
• Arthur Martin, assistant professor of biology
• Tami Sivy, assistant professor of chemistry

We are proud of them and look forward to long and productive careers together at SVSU.

This afternoon, the Board of Control also approved plans to renovate and upgrade the Ryder Center. This is one of our most heavily used buildings and is now 24 years old. The $20 million project will be phased in over two years.

The Board also approved the new strategic plan.  It’s not light reading, but I suggest you take a look at it.  As an institution, we usually do what we plan.

Last Thursday, Governor Snyder unveiled his executive budget proposal.  It includes a 2 percent increase for higher education, including public universities.  This proposal now moves on to the Legislature.  Stay tuned on this.