SIUC Chancellor Carlo Montemagno said half of his reorganization plan’s proposed schools had been approved at the SIU Board of Trustees meeting Thursday.

Montemagno said the proposed school plans are sent to the office of the president for approval within a week.

“This reorganization is part of creating the nimblest…allowing us to address the need to deal with the ever-changing dynamic and nature of education that will allow us to be competitive,” Montemagno said.

(See more: LIVE: SIU Board of Trustees meets for September 2018 meeting)

Montemagno also said that to show a commitment to innovation the university will be creating a “Makerspace” where students can work in a variety of disciplines to create and innovate.

In addition to the Makerspace, Montemagno said the University is creating an esports competition center and has already joined the National Association for Collegiate esports.

“We are building a competitive building for both intramural and intercollegiate,” Montemagno said. “It is under construction right now it should be fully operational by the end of the semester.”

Montemagno said the university can no longer rely solely on funding from the state of Illinois and must look elsewhere for more funding.

“We have to find new avenues for providing revenue and capital beyond that,” Montemagno said. “We are looking towards providing [many] opportunities […] an opportunity zone that’s going to make placement of innovative businesses and entrepreneurial startups in our region.”

During his report, Montemagno said the freshman class of 2022 is the strongest class academically to be accepted at SIU since 1990, the furthest back the statistic has been recorded.

Todd Bryson, interim associate chancellor for diversity,  spoke about diversity at SIU and said in 2016, minority students made up 29% of our total enrollment.

(See more: SIU Board of Trustees moves forward with allocation study, approves Buys and Balkansky as interim deans)

During the meeting there were 30 minutes allotted for public comments and questions. Two speakers were scheduled during this time however neither were present.

There was one faculty appeal and one student appeal voted on to be approved or denied, the board denied both appeals.

20 items were approved via omnibus at the meeting, including a salary increase plan for 2019, HVAC maintenance for the SIU School of Medicine, and the purchase of a new identity management software.

The next board of trustees meeting is scheduled for Dec. 13 at SIU Carbondale.

Staff reporter Kallie Cox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @KallieC45439038.

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