President Ronald Berry started looking forward to the future after ULM saw record-high enrollment rates.

The administration created a 10-year master plan that includes new additions to the university. Berry explained that the university was trying to identify funding for the plan, which would involve the construction of an amphitheater, more student walkways and an on-campus hotel.

“We created a new master plan for the university that gives us a view of what the university might look like ten years from now,” Berry said. “We engaged some consultants who met with hundreds of people, students, community leaders, faculty and staff, and that kind of helped us dream of what the next phase of the university should look like.”

Berry explained that one project the university hopes to start soon is creating more green spaces for students by closing roads internal to campus.

“The first one of those, we’ll refer to it as ‘Mitchell Green,’ and we’ll close Mitchell Drive,” Berry said. “It will reduce in-campus traffic, and hopefully, once we identify funding, that will be a safer place for students.”

According to Berry, the university still needs to identify how the project will be funded.

Projects further down the road include an on-campus hotel, an amphitheater and new student walkways. The university planned to seek funding for these projects but hadn’t acquired it yet.

Berry explained that the university received funding from a few outlets, ranging from state and federal funding to private donors.

“I would say that stable funding had some small reductions,” Berry said. “Each year, there is a funding formula that generates the amount of state dollars coming to a university. We did get less than we did the year before, but it was minor.”

Berry informed the faculty senate that the state board of regents created a budget for the university, which was reduced by 7% to 9%, or some $7 million to $9 million. The administration decided to reduce the budget in case the state repeals a temporary tax that provides universities with extra funding.

The ULM Foundation, a nonprofit corporation that supports the university, reported earlier this school year it had $100 million in assets under management.

“That is a significant milestone for the university,” Berry said.

According to the ULM Foundation’s website, the nonprofit provides scholarship aid to students, university funding for academic programs and salary enhancements to retain faculty. They can also sell and manage immovable property for future acquisitions by the university.

A project the university plans to begin soon is the total renovation of Sugar Hall. Berry told faculty that the university wanted to put the renovation of Sugar Hall out for bid.

“We had hoped to have a groundbreaking in late October or early November, but we anticipate work starting in January,” he said.

Sugar Hall renovation will include lab space, learning spaces for health sciences, and a dental hygiene lab, according to Berry.

Berry mentioned that he was proud of how far the university had come in recent years.

“We are always trying to create a campus where people feel like they belong,” Berry said.