The OU Board of Regents approved Wednesday the purchase of five new CART buses fueled by compressed natural gas and the appointment of Richard Taylor as Dean to the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Art, said Catherine Bishop, vice president of public affairs.

The Parking and Transportation Services for the Norman Campus requested the replacement of three diesel-fueled buses and the addition of two new buses to accommodate an increasing number of riders, according to the Regents’ agenda.

Taylor has been an interim director of the College of Fine Arts since June 2008. As Dean, Taylor’s plans to increase scholarship funding, create new programs and work vwith Oklahoma’s public schools to promote art education throughout the state, according to the agenda.

The Regents also approved the revised design plans and the $8.5 million budget for the Schusterman Center Library and Learning Center project in Tulsa, Bishop said.

The design and budget were readdressed due to an increase in cost estimates, according to the Regent’s agenda. The revised facility will include group study rooms, reading areas and an information gallery.

OU President David Boren announced a $5 million gift for the OU School of Social Work, Bishop said. The gift came from the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation of Tulsa as a way to celebrate Henry Zarrow’s 93rd birthday. The gift will go toward constructing a new building for the School of Social Work.