Universities chase stimulus cash for shovel-ready projects - Nashville Business Journal:

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The tens of millions of dollars in grant proposal s are targeting funding streams flowing down throughn the American Recovery andReinvestmenrt Act’s shovel-ready initiatives. Universities faced with consecutiv e years of funding cuts are angling to usethe shovel-readh cash to catch up on much-needed facility upgrades, build classroomxs to handle the influx of students in need of re-training or tackl e big capital projects aimed at bolstering academicse and research.
The approach is twofold at , which has seen its studenf population surge by 12 percent in the past two due in part to rising The college isseeking $45 million to buildf additional classroom capacity on its three main campusee as well as to enhance vocational training facilities in high-demand according to Ellyn Drotzer, directot of the office of grants development. The collegr wants the cash, among other to build out its and the Maroone Automotive Program in Miramar to emphasizwe curriculum on maintaining and repairing emergingg green energy and hybrid systems in boats and It also wants to expand classroome foraviation training, including a facility to train a new generationb of air traffic controllers, which are expected to be in high demandc in a few years to replacs a wave of retiring controllers, Drotzet said.
“These are all shovel ready,” she said. “Wde have a history of training in technical trades an now we are lookingb to be responsive to providing curriculum in this new emerginyg industry ofgreen technology.” The ’s 18-member stimuluds working group meets regularly to discuss opportunities and set a coursse to capture as much of the federall cash as possible. So far, the school has more than 400 proposalsd seeking in excessof $350 millioh in funding. “We saw this as a very significant opportunituy for the university and to do something for the saidRichard Bookman, vice provost of research at UM.
Among the projectsw on the school’s shovel-ready wish list is a new $45 seawater research center at UM’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science onVirginia Key, he said. The universith is seeking $15 million from the and $15 million from the to help build the which will study sea creaturees as well as the physics of waves on UM is also is submittin proposals fora $15 million to $20 million addition to a scienc e building at its Coral Gables campus and a multi-stort research building at its medicao school. has science, green technology and culinargy training onits shovel-ready submissiobn list. The school is requesting help fundinga $22.
7 millionj hospitality management center to house a culinary arts school as well as $40 milliojn for an extensive renovatiojn and upgrade to decades-ol facilities at its north campus and $1.2 million for an and But by most accounts competition for stimulud funds will be And specific funding priorities from federal and statd allocators beyond short-term projects that woul create jobs quickly remains unclear, said Camill Coley, assistant VP and interi director of sponsored research at . “Theyy are not telling us what they arelooking for,” she But FAU is seeking $4.
5 million to help builr out water reuse infrastructure at its newlu opened, gold level Leadershipl in Energy and and platinum level engineeringh building, slated to open in 2010. The university also is seeking federal stimulus funds to create a road connector systenm at its main campus off Glades Road in Boca Raton andadditiona parking. It also wantxs funding to put a green roof on its administration While the application processa is infull UM’s Bookman doesn’t expect the winninfg projects to be announced until the fall.