Purdue News

December 16, 2000 Purdue to raise room rates, upgrade library WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue undergraduate students living and eating in University Residences will pay an average of $301 more during the next academic year. The Board of Trustees approved the new rates today (Saturday 12/16). The trustees also approved hiring a general contractor for a $4.6 million renovation of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education Library in Stewart Center. Under the new room and board rate schedule, undergraduate students living in University Residences will have a variety of options, but the average annual cost will be $5,365 for a room and 15 meals a week, an increase of 6 percent, or $301. The price for graduate student housing will remain the same, and housing for students living in the Purdue Village apartments will increase 6 percent. Kenneth Burns, executive vice president and treasurer, said the rates will fund major improvements, including the renovation of Cary Quadrangle that began this year and the consolidation of University Residences food service operations. Burns said University Residences are self-supporting, and renovation costs must be paid by students living in university housing. Purdue's housing and food service fees rank sixth among Big Ten universities, and that ranking should not change, Burns said. Students living in undergraduate housing again will be able to choose from three meal plans: 20, 15 or 10 meals per week. Purdue began offering three meal options in the fall of 1996, said Marvis Boscher, director of University Residences. The average undergraduate room with the 20 meal-per-week plan will cost $5,793 for the year. Under the 15 meal-per-week plan, the rate will average $5,365. Under the 10 meal-per-week plan, the rate will average $5,117. The rates will go into effect Aug. 6. All undergraduate rates include utilities, telephone with call-waiting and voice mail, cable television hookup in each room and access to Purdue's central computing network through computer labs in each hall, Boscher said. Rates for the Hawkins and Young graduate houses will remain the same as last year, an average of $468 per month. The rate includes utilities, telephone with call-waiting and voice mail, cable television hookup and air conditioning. Starting July 1, the average monthly rent for Purdue Village apartments will be $491.40, an increase of 6 percent. Utilities, telephone with call-waiting and voice mail, and cable television hookup are included. Graduate students and those in Purdue Village apartments do not have contracts with the university that include meals. With about 10,000 undergraduate students living in 11 traditional housing units and two apartment complexes, Purdue has one of the largest residence hall systems in the country. In other business, the trustees approved: • Hiring J.R. Kelly Co. of Lafayette to renovate the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education Library in Stewart Center. The $4.6 million project calls for reworking 60,000 square feet of the library into a contemporary electronic information center. Renovations will include faculty offices, workrooms, study areas and collection areas. The project also will upgrade the library's computer and electronic reference systems. The library will be made more accessible to those with disabilities. • Hiring Middough Associates of Highland, Ind., to prepare plans for an electrostatic precipitator upgrade for a boiler at the Wade Power Plant. The precipitator is an electronic filter that keeps small, solid particles from going through the smokestack and into the air. The project's estimated budget is $1.5 million. • Hiring Spectrum Engineering Corp. of Leo, Ind., to prepare plans for a power distribution center that will serve the western portion of campus. The estimated budget for the project is $2.4 million. Sources: Kenneth Burns, (765) 494-9705; kpburns@purdue.edu Marvis Boscher, (765) 494-1000; mboscher@purdue.edu Writer: J. Michael Willis, (765) 494-0317; jmwillis@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page