Office of the EVP/COO

Brandeis University

Office of the Executive Vice President
and Chief Operating Officer

TO:	All Members of the Brandeis Community
FROM:	Peter French, Executive VP/COO
DATE:	August 31, 2005
RE:	Update on Capital Projects and University Finances

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I am writing to report on capital projects accomplished over the summer, the status of capital projects being planned, and a status report on University finances. This and previous memos are available on the website of the EVP/COO, at www.brandeis.edu/evpcoo (click on Documents link) or at www.brandeis.edu/evpcoo/community_update2005-08-31.html. Further information on capital projects may be found at www.brandeis.edu/capitalprojects. Further information on the University's finances may be found at www.brandeis.edu/budgetandplanning.

A description of each project follows on subsequent pages of this memo. For additional information on these projects, where available, links are provided below on projects with specific web sites:

Projects Completed or Under Construction:

• The Schneider Building for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management
• New Soccer Field and Track
• New Superconducting Magnet Facility
• Gordon Residence Hall Renovation
• Wireless Network
• Infrastructure Renewal Project, Phase 2
• Energy Savings Program

Projects in Planning or Design:

• New Ridgewood Residence Hall
• Science Complex Renewal Project
• Edmond J. Safra Center for the Arts
• Heller-Brown Building Renovation
• Rose Art Phase 2

University Financial Status

University Fundraising Status

If you have questions about any of these projects, please refer to the contact information provided at the end of this memo.

Projects Completed or Under Construction:

Schneider Building Project
Construction for the donor-funded Schneider Building at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, designed by Kyu Sung Woo Architects, is underway. Excavation work is nearing completion on schedule. The Schneider Building will add approximately 34,000 square feet to the Heller School and will include classrooms, offices, and a "forum," a three-story central space that will provide a prime venue for lectures, presentations, and events. The Schneider Building has been designed with a focus on sustainable (i.e., environmentally friendly) design, accessibility for all users, and appropriate technology in support of teaching, learning, and research at the Heller School. Construction is scheduled to be complete by early summer 2006, and building occupancy is expected in time for the fall 2006 semester.

New Soccer Field
This summer, the soccer field behind G-Lot, adjacent to the baseball field, was replaced by a regulation-size soccer field, constructed using synthetic turf. Synthetic turf, which has become the standard on high-end fields, is significantly more durable than grass, and has excellent performance and safety characteristics. Surrounding the soccer field, an eight-lane track is being added, which is scheduled to be complete by mid-September. New lighting will also be installed to enable evening use of the field and track.

New Superconducting Magnet Facility
In 2003, the University received a grant award of two million dollars from the National Institutes of Health for the purchase of a new superconducting magnet. The University has four other such units, which are used as research tools by the departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry. This new unit will allow faculty to look at the structure and motion of health-related proteins with a detail not possible on existing magnets at the University or elsewhere in the Boston area. A new donor-funded facility to house this research tool has been completed adjacent to the Nessel Academic Center in the space framed by Nessel/Golding, Stoneman, and Mailman. The facility was designed by Payette Associates, a nationally recognized architectural and planning firm with extensive experience in the planning and design of science buildings and hospitals The magnet is scheduled to be delivered to the new facility in September.

Gordon Residence Hall Renovation
Renovation of Gordon Hall, in the North Residential Quad, is underway. Improvements will be similar to those completed this past January in Scheffres Hall: lounges will be renovated with new furniture, carpets, ceilings, lighting, and paint; bathrooms will be updated; carpets will be replaced throughout the building; ceilings will be replaced and new lighting installed in all hallways; hallways will be painted. In addition, as part of the residence halls fire safety upgrades within the infrastructure renewal project, sprinklers will be installed and fire alarm systems updated in Gordon Hall. All work in Gordon is expected to be complete by mid-December.

Wireless Network
Installation of a wireless system that will be deployed throughout the campus and will provide high-speed wireless networking to every building and enhance outdoor coverage began in July. The wireless network will allow users to connect securely at speeds up to 54Mbps and provide access to central resources such as file and print services. Installation of this new network will be completed during the fall.

The Infrastructure Renewal Project will be largely complete by the start of the fall semester. The Infrastructure Renewal project is funded by University debt issues in January 2004. Phase 2 work for summer 2005 outlined in my May 9, 2005 memo to the community has been completed as planned, on time and on budget. A few additional elements of the overall project remain to be completed. These include: implementation of the first phase of the campus signage program, scheduled to begin in October; and, work on one additional segment of the steam system (being considered for summer 2006). Following are brief status reports, by category, for the second Phase of the Infrastructure Renewal Project.

Classroom Improvements
Major renovations of Olin-Sang 101 and Lown 2 were completed this summer. Fifty flat-floor and seminar-style classrooms identified by Dean Jaffe were improved this summer. These improvements included upgrades of technology as well as new carpets, blinds, and other renovations. Since FY 2002, 60 of the University's 101 classrooms have been enhanced or improved as part of the Classroom Improvement Project.

Residence Halls Fire Safety
All University residence halls are fully code-compliant. The University's highest priority for the Infrastructure Renewal Project continues to be the acceleration of upgrades to these systems to bring them up to the latest standards for fire-safety. All of the University's housing stock is code compliant. At the conclusion of summer 2005, 91% (2,437 of 2,678 beds) of the University's housing stock meets the latest fire protection system standards. Fire alarms and sprinklers were installed this summer in North Quad: Reitman, Cable, Gordon (see above); Massell: Renfield, Usen; Foster Mods; and, 567 South St. Fire alarms were installed in Charles River: 150, 164.

Roadways, Sidewalks and Pedestrian Safety
Sign standards and a sign placement plan for the campus have been prepared. The plan has been reviewed by the Sign Project Advisory Committee, whose membership includes faculty, staff, and students. Beginning in the fall, the University expects to begin the first phase of a multi-phased installation of the new signs. Overall, this plan will put in place new signs ranging from front entrance identification, directional, and events signs to individual building identification signs, parking signs, maps, and many others. Work is complete on the addition of sidewalks along the loop road from the Faculty Club to the front entrance.

Steam Network
This summer, a major segment of the steam network running from the peripheral road up the pathway that leads to Hassenfeld and the Faculty Center was replaced. Work on manholes throughout the steam network also occurred. Additional work to replace steam lines connecting Rabb, the North Residential Quad, and the Castle is being considered for summer 2006.

Electric Network
A new substation is being installed across from the University's main entrance, along Old South Street at the end of G-Lot. This work, which is expected to improve reliability and redundancy in the University's electrical system, is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2005.

Energy Savings Program
In an effort to reduce its energy consumption and environmental impact, the University has committed to a multi-year energy and water conservation program. For fiscal years 2005 and 2006, Infrastructure bond funds have been allocated for energy and water conservation projects. Additional conservation funds are planned for fiscal years 2007 through 2010. Work completed on the Infrastructure Projects within the electric, water, and steam categories networks and the recruitment last year of an energy manager for the University is already helping to contain energy costs.

Implementation of Phase 1 of the Energy Savings Program is now in progress. Projects planned in the coming year include: energy efficient lighting and occupancy-sensing lighting controls; energy efficient fans and pumps; improved building heating, ventilation and air conditioning control systems; and utilization of water conserving fixtures. The Energy Savings Program's success will rely, in part, on the institution of numerous conservation initiatives that will need the support of the Brandeis community, including students, faculty and staff. University leadership is working closely with the student-led organization BEST (Brandeis Environmental Sustainability Team) to develop a plan to inform the Brandeis community about ways in which we all can contribute to reducing energy use and improving the University's practices from an environmental perspective. In addition to environmental benefits, the energy and water usage reductions realized from these conservation measures will help to offset escalating energy costs.


Projects in Planning and Design:
The University has initiated planning and design on a number of projects identified as priorities in the Integrated Plan. Gift and debt funding will be required for these projects. The University's policy is that capital projects advance with Board of Trustee approval after presentation of plans for fully funded capital costs and annual operating costs. The status of these projects is summarized below.

New Ridgewood Residence Hall
Biddison & Hier, the consultant that assisted the University in developing the foundations for its strategic housing plan in 1999—a plan the University has been implementing since that time—is assisting the University in programming for a new residence hall intended to occupy the existing Ridgewood Quad site with a capacity of up to 300 beds. This programming work will result in definition of the type of housing, the configuration of rooms/suites, and the types and quantities of common spaces the University hopes to include in the new residence hall.

Science Complex Renewal
Programming and planning are underway for the Science Complex Renewal Project. In accordance with President Reinharz's commitment to renew the University's science facilities through the addition of new space and the selective renovation of existing spaces, the University has engaged Payette Associates, a nationally recognized architectural and planning firm with extensive experience in the planning and design of science buildings and hospitals. Building on the vision statement developed by the School of Science in the programming phase, recommendations are being developed as to how existing spaces, through renovation and reconfiguration, can be made to best serve the University's goals for the sciences, and what sort of new space should be added to the science complex, where such new space might be located, how much new space might be required, and what activities might be housed in it. Following completion of the Programming and Planning Phase, completion of a funding plan and trustee preliminary approval of the project, project design will be initiated. The duration of the Design Phase and subsequent Construction and Renovation Phases will depend on the overall approach decided upon and the likely associated need to carry out the project in stages (to accommodate the ongoing needs of the faculty and students to continue normal activities in the science center, and consistent with available resources). To fully understand the University's needs for the sciences, Payette Associates is continuing to meet with focus groups, which include faculty, staff, and students. This crucial first phase of planning is expected to be complete by the end of 2005. There will be briefings this fall to update the community regarding this important initiative.

Edmond J. Safra Center for the Arts
Programming is complete for the Edmond J. Safra Center for the Arts. The donor-funded Safra Center is envisioned as a state-of-the-art facility supporting both art history and the teaching and practice of studio arts in a broad range of media. Polshek Partnership, a firm with extensive experience in planning and designing facilities for higher education, museums, and performing and fine arts has begun the next phase of planning, developing phasing options and studying siting and massing of a new fine arts building. Polshek is also studying Goldman-Schwartz, and will be making recommendations with regard to partial or complete renovation or removal. The current planning phase is expected to be completed in December.

Heller-Brown Building Renovation
Planning has begun for the Heller-Brown building to determine the renovation scope for donor-funded improvement of academic and administrative spaces, building code upgrades, building and mechanical systems improvements and landscaping improvements. Renovation on Heller Brown would be scheduled following the completion of the Schneider Building.

Rose Art Museum Phase 2
Design has begun on a donor-funded renovation and enhancement project intended to address the Rose Art Museum's needs for: storage space for paintings, sculpture, and prints and drawings; reception space; administrative support space; programmatic support space including workshop, preparation space, loading dock and receiving area, and flexible education space. The project is expected to include creation of a new gallery space above the existing support building, reconfiguration of the support building, and renovation of the original Rose Art Museum. Schematic design by the architectural team of Shigeru Ban and Dean Maltz is complete.

Budget, Endowment and Fundraising Update
A balanced operating and capital result was achieved for FY 2005, consistent with the Trustee-approved budget. The market value of the endowment was $519M as of June 30, 2005 after an endowment total return of plus 9% for FY 2005. The FY 2005 return provided sufficient gains and income to support the budgeted $21M draw for operations. The market value of the endowment is approximately $525M as of today.

The Development Office reported another outstanding year for fundraising. Cash raised in FY 2005 totaled $66.4M. As of July 31, 2005, the capital campaign raised $455M. The $455M represents 97% of the campaign goal of $470M. The components of the $455M raised since campaign inception are $180M in endowment gifts, $64M in budget relief gifts, $55M in program specific gifts, $41M in non-government sponsored research grants, and $115M in funds for capital projects such as the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center, the Village residence hall and the Lemberg Academic Center of the International Business School.

A report on the status of University resources from FY 1995 through FY 2005 can be found on the Office of Budget and Planning website www.brandeis.edu/budgetandplanning.

Questions?

Please contact Dan Feldman, Associate Vice President for Planning, Design, and Construction, at x6-8405 or by email to feldman@brandeis.edu, with questions about any of the following projects:

• The Schneider Building for the Heller School for Social Policy and Management
• New Soccer Field
• New Superconducting Magnet Facility
• Rose Art Phase 2 Renovation and Expansion
• Science Complex Renewal Project
• Edmond J. Safra Center for the Arts
• Village 2 Residence Hall

More information about these and other capital projects can be found on the website of the Office of Capital Projects, at www.brandeis.edu/capitalprojects.

Please contact Mark Collins, Vice President for University Services, at x6-4564 or by email to collins@brandeis.edu, if you have questions about any of the following projects:

• Gordon Hall Renovation
• Energy and Water Conservation
• Infrastructure Renewal Project, Phase 2 (for Classroom Improvements and for Roadways, Sidewalks and Pedestrian Safety categories, please contact Dan Feldman)

Please contact Perry Hanson, Vice President for Information Technology and Libraries for any questions regarding the Wireless Project, at x6-4588 or by email to phanson@brandeis.edu.

Please contact Jim Hurley, Vice President for Budget and Planning with any questions regarding the University budget, at x6-8302 or by email to jhurley@brandeis.edu.

Please contact Susan Krinsky, Associate Vice President for Campaign with any questions regarding the capital campaign, at x6-4006 or by email to krinsky@brandeis.edu.