The CSUS Foundation Board of Directors awarded roughly $20,000 in student grants and discussed the construction of a much-needed temporary building at last week?s meeting.

Each year, the foundation awards Project Activity Grants to students in order to offset the costs of study-related activities like designing projects, attending conferences and organizing events.

This semester, the foundation received 34 grant requests that totaled $73,000, but only had $18,502 allotted for the grants.

“All these grants are wonderful, but we have limited dollars,” said Rhonda Rios Kravitz, an access service librarian and faculty representative on the board.

Fifteen grants were awarded for the amount requested, with an additional 16 getting partial funding. Only three proposals, one for a Women?s ResourceCenter speakers? reception, a second for the 11th Annual Africa Conference and a third for the National Society of Black Engineers Conference, were turned down.

Kravitz said the speakers? reception and Africa Conference grants were rejected because they had received funding in previous years and the Society of Black Engineers grant was turned down because the board was unsure whether the students intended to make presentations at the conference.

“We provide registration fees only for students making a presentation,” Kravitz said.

Some board members felt that the rule was not made clear to applicants.

“One concern I have is that, after reading through the application and criteria, I don?t see any stipulation about making presentations,” said board member and ASI Executive Vice President Eric Guerra.

Community representative and business owner Susanne Burton, agreed.

“I would grant that we should have some flexibility because we may have mislead some people,” Barton said.

Other members of the board felt the issue was being blown out of proportion.

“If you had been asked to fund 72 grants, what would you do then?” asked Elizabeth Moulds, vice president and chief of staff for the University and the president?s designee on the board.

“I think we need to take a hard look at who we give funds to and how much we give them.”

Marion O?Leary, dean of the college of natural science and mathematics, thought the board shouldn?t even debate the matter.

“These are grants, not entitlements. My attitude is: scratch it,” O?Leary said.

The board eventually passed a motion that allowed $2,000 in funding for the Society of Black Engineers provided they could prove that they would make presentations at the conference.

Also discussed were plans for a temporary faculty office and classroom building, set to be built to the west of parking lot 6.

“We are in the process of recruiting around 100 new faculty,” said Ed Del Biaggio, Vice President for Administration for the University.

“One of the problems we are encountering is an extreme shortage of faculty space.”

Del Biaggio explained that the building could be configured to include any combination of a possible 100 office and 40 classroom spaces, depending on the campus? needs at any given time.

“It gives the flexibility to relieve a lot of pressure from the campus. It?s a very creative solution,” Moulds said.

“The building would be built by the Foundation and leased to the university until the building costs are recouped, at which time the Foundation would donate the building to the university,” Del Biaggio said.

The board holds its next meeting May 3 at 12:30 p.m. in the Lobby Suite of the University Union.