TULSA — An agreement between OU and Oklahoma Gas & Electric was approved by the OU Board of Regents at its meeting Wednesday in Tulsa.
The board also approved the continued services of a building auditing company to determine how to make OU’s buildings more energy efficient, a 2 percent salary increase for faculty and staff and building additions and renovations to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and Collings Hall.
All items were approved unanimously by the board.
The agreement between OU and OG&E had to be approved by the regents before either party could sign the agreement Wednesday afternoon in Norman.
When the board voted on the item, few details were available to the public. However, the agreement had been reviewed by the regents before they cast their votes, OU President David L. Boren said.
The board also approved continued work by Johnson Controls, a company that makes suggestions to clients on how to reduce energy costs by installing automatic light switches, improving door and window seals and improving insulation.
“This is another effort on the university’s part to engage in energy savings,” said Nick Hathaway, vice president for executive and administrative affairs.
The company has been testing OU’s buildings since 2007.
So far, the company has established current energy usage for certain buildings, audited building supply systems such as heating and air and physical characteristics, developed recommendations and estimated financial savings, according to the agenda.
With the new contract, Johnson Controls will complete the performance contracting engagement.
The company will guarantee the overall savings, assist in savings measurement and accept compensation only on the savings achieved and compensating OU for savings not achieved.
Boren said the project will help cut costs and make older buildings more energy efficient.
Salary increase
All faculty and staff on the Norman campus will see at least a 2 percent increase in salary starting this month for hourly workers and Oct. 1 for monthly employees.
Boren said at the meeting that the increase will keep OU in the top two of the Big 12 for faculty and staff salaries.
Some departments will be awarded additional increases to pass on to exemplary employees, according to the agenda.
Building renovations
Planning is underway for an addition to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art which will house the Eugene B. Adkins Gallery. The cost of the project is an estimated $6 million.
A $6.5 million improvement project on Collings Hall, the home of the College of Education, is scheduled to begin next month.
“They greatly need additional space,” Boren said about the college. “These are the first improvements they’ve had since World War II.”
The next OU Board of Regents meeting will be Oct. 22 in Norman.
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Shyme55 3 years, 8 months ago
Unfortunately, the "Top 2 in the Big 12 salary status" only holds true for the Norman campus faculty. Those faculty teaching your future doctors, pharmacists, nurses and dentists are paid well below the other Big 12 schools.