University President Michael Gottfredson may decide — in consultation with a committee he appointed over the summer that includes students —  tomorrow morning whether the University will continue its campaign to renovate and expand the Erb Memorial Union.
The 11 a.m. meeting will be in the president’s conference room, according to Joe Mosley, assistant director of media relations. The committee will be presenting several options to Gottfredson for how to pay for the expansion, which has been a major point of contention in the past.
Student dollars are necessary to pay for the expansion, but the University needs to win the popular vote of students during a referendum that the ASUO puts on a ballot. There were two referendums on the expansion last year, both of which failed. Other options for funding the expansion are being explored.
“The president has made a team to figure out what is a reasonable fee for students,” EMU interim Director Wendy Polhemus@@checked@@ said.
The other option would be to put off plans for the expansion indefinitely and move forward with long-needed repairs to the building.
Vice President of Student Affairs Robin Holmes said that because the issue is so complex, the meeting may not produce any final decisions.
Over the summer, administrators came under a deluge of criticism after the University hired RBI Strategies and Research, a consulting firm, to promote the referendum among students.