University officials hope Sacramento State will receive funds from the federal stimulus package signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday. President Alexander Gonzalez plans to use the money on new science equipment and renovate the old bookstore, Del Norte Hall, into large classrooms.

Gonzalez, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Sacramento County officials met Feb. 9 at a press conference to discuss the city and university’s plans on how they would spend the proposed money from the federal stimulus package.

The previous mayor, Heather Fargo and Gonzalez signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2008 which stated that the city’s officials and the school would meet annually to “increase communication and collaborations, develop and implement joint projects and help further their respective visions.”

As a part of the Destination 2010 development plan, the university plans on remodeling Del Norte Hall to house various general-use classrooms, including a few large lecture halls to hold over 200 students. The average cost for the project is about $7.5 million, and will create an estimated 213 construction jobs, according to a Sac State press release.

Ron Richardson, the associate vice president of Facilities Services, discussed some aspects of the project, “We hope to have the project ready for classes in spring 2010,” Richardson said.

Nothing is final regarding which colleges within the university will get these extra classrooms.

“I think that all the colleges need more classrooms,” said Russell Ching, associate dean in the College of Business Administration, “As it is right now, just about every college could use bigger classrooms.”

In addition to the construction, Gonzalez has proposed using $100,000 to purchase modern lab equipment used for advanced cell analysis. This equipment will help support and further courses in cell and molecular biology which has grown in popularity in recent years.

The university is asking for funds from the stimulus package as part of a larger $97 million project to help modify and expand the Science Department. Various things, such as lab equipment, classroom and lab construction and graduate degree programs will be bought, built and made with this money.

This addition to the College of Natural Science and Mathematics will help better prepare the 900 or so students who will benefit from this lab equipment.

Dean of the College of Natural Science and Mathematics Jill Trainer said there has been a spiked interest in the subject of cell and molecular biology. An annual report passed on to Trainer said the average salary for a lab scientist in California was $70,000, almost double that of the average Californian. The study also said that 270,000 California residents hold careers in the life science industry.

Trainer said there will be about 900 students within the college who will benefit from the new equipment.

Anne Morrison can be reached at [email protected]