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Tuesday, January 31, 2006

There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute


WENDLER PROPOSES
MASSIVE FEE INCREASE


Zack Quaintance
Daily Egyptian
Southern Illinois University


Chancellor Walter Wendler revealed significant details about "Saluki Way" Monday night, including the construction plan's start date and a resulting $256 in student fee increases during the next four years.

Administrators originally expected alumni gifts to pay for the bulk of "Saluki Way," a nearly $500 million, 12-year construction plan to overhaul the east side of campus. Wendler told student group representatives at a meeting in the Student Center that fees would pay for 75 percent and donors would account for the rest.

The athletic fee sits at $113, but would increase $44 per semester every fall for four years under Wendler's proposal. The chancellor noted that even with the increase, SIUC would remain consistent with its peer institutions.

By comparison, the University of Illinois at Chicago charges students a $414.60 athletic fee per semester, and Eastern Illinois University charges $174.05. The proposed increase wedges SIUC between the two with $289 eventually being charged per semester in fall 2009.

Wendler proposed the athletic fee increase because "Saluki Way's" first phase includes building a new football field just south of McAndrew Stadium and renovating the SIU Arena. The chancellor said improving athletic facilities is critical.

"We have the distinction at Southern Illinois University Carbondale of having the worst athletic facilities in two conferences," Wendler said, referring to the football team's Gateway Conference and the Missouri Valley Conference in which other sports programs play.

Wendler also stressed the importance of improving non-athletic facilities. While "Saluki Way" originally called for an academic building in phase one of construction, the chancellor said conversations with SIU President Glenn Poshard changed that.

The first non-athletic building will now be a replacement for Woody Hall, the more than 50-year-old building that houses many administrative offices. Wendler dubbed the new structure the Academic Support Services Building, and he said Woody Hall's current offices, which include financial aid and the Bursar, would move there.

New and prospective students would no longer trudge between the Student Center and Woody Hall to prepare for school, he said. Instead, visitors could do all their business in a modern building located where McAndrew Stadium currently stands.

"Everything a student would need to do to get ready for school would be right at the front door," the chancellor said.

The Academic Support Services Building necessitates a fee increase as well, Wendler said. Replacing Woody Hall stands to cost students a $20 per semester fee increase every four years as well, increasing the plan's related hikes to $256 over the next four years.

"It's a fairly substantial increase in fees, but you know it's coming," Wendler said. "That's part of the deal."

Wendler said paying the new fees should be seen as an investment in the value of an SIUC degree. The chancellor compared degrees to stock certificates, saying the value goes up when the University improves.

"I think, personally, this will have a big time positive impact on the University and because you hold stock in it, a big time positive impact on you," he said.