WHAT'S NEW
Accountancy price tag: $12 million
University of Waterloo, Daily Bulletin
Published: Thursday, February 8, 2007
The UW board of governors gave final approval on Tuesday to start building a new wing of Hagey Hall of the Humanities to house UW's school of accountancy. Daniel Parent, UW's director of design and construction, said yesterday that work will get going in early spring.

The board approved a budget of $12.3 million for the building, furnishings and other costs, and awarded the construction contract (worth $9.7 million) to Bondfield Construction, which is based in Concord, Ontario.

The new wing will extend from the existing Humanities building, completed in 1969, to the northeast (toward the Tatham Centre). The design, done by RS Architects, was approved by the board of governors last year. But it's been expanded from the earlier plans, from 40,000 square feet originally to 52,000 now. And basement space is being added to house a chiller plant, costing about $800,000, to boost the air conditioning capacity for the south campus.

Donations to help pay for the building are currently at $4.1 million, the board was told, and most of the rest is expected to come from provincial government funding that's provided in recognition of expanded enrolment in accountancy graduate programs.

Separately in Tuesday's meeting, the board was advised that UW has arranged with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities "to convert the Master's of Accounting program from full-cost recovery to grant-eligible. As a condition of that approval, the University was required to reduce tuition from $7,142 to $5,400 per term, effective January 2007."

Among other developments at Tuesday's board meeting:

  • Brenda Halloran, newly elected mayor of Waterloo, took her seat on the UW governing body for the first time, and took the opportunity to hand out lapel pins celebrating the city's 150th anniversary.
  • Fee increases in UW residences were approved, with the amounts going up by 4.0 per cent, effective next September, in most cases.
  • The building and properties committee reported that a "steering committee" is being set up "to help guide the development of the detailed Master Plan for the northwest campus lands, which total 185 acres." That area includes the planned library, YMCA and playing fields developments off Bearinger Road.
  • Board chair Bob Harding reported that a review of UW's "external relations" is under way, aimed at setting directions for fund-raising and related activities once Campaign Waterloo comes to a close. At the same time, a search committee is looking for UW's next vice-president (university relations).
  • At a reception after the meeting, which was held at St. Jerome's University, UW historian Ken McLaughlin spoke briefly about the friendship between Gerry Hagey, founding president of the university, and Rev. "Corky" Siegfried, who headed the existing St. Jerome's and brought it into federation with UW. The two men "were very similar in character", says McLaughlin, "and ecumenical before the term was commonplace."
The board meeting also talked about budgets, internationalization, and expansion of UW's graduate programs. The Daily Bulletin will report further tomorrow.