Arkansas Tech University’s board of trustees approved Thursday to invest $4.67 million in upgrades to its 18 residence halls.
The money will go toward improvements to fire sprinklers, fire alarm systems and wireless Internet connectivity. The improvements will occur over the next three years.
Robin Bowen, university president, told the board the university’s fire sprinklers and alarm systems are up to code, and improvements will “enhance our ability to ensure student safety.”
The improvements are be completed by 2017.
Also this week, the university’s vice president for academic affairs, John Watson, has announced his plans to return to full-time teaching at Arkansas Tech. He has served in the position since 2008.
Watson will continue in the position through the end of the fall semester and take a sabbatical during the spring semester to prepare.
“He is an admired leader and an administrator of rare talent,” Bowen said in a news release. “Perhaps most importantly, he possesses the compassion and empathy necessary to be a great educator.”
Watson joined the university staff in 1978, and was head of the Tech Department of Mathematics from 1982-2001 and dean of what is now the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences from 2001-08.
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