BOV Holds First Meeting of the 2007-08 Year

October 4, 2007

The George Mason University Board of Visitors (BOV), the university's governing board, met for its first meeting of the year on Wednesday.

Among the action items approved by the BOV at the meeting were the following:

• Renaming the MS in Bioinformatics to MS in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, as well as the PhD in Bioinformatics to the PhD in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology to better reflect the nature of the degree and to correspond to the name of the department in which it is offered.
  
  
• Establishing a BS in Community Health in the College of Health and Human Services to replace the current bachelor’s degree in health science concentration in community health. The program was proposed as a result of an increasing demand for a standalone degree in community health, the growing shortage of public health and community health workers, as well as student interest and demand for such a program.
  
  
• Establishing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) to prepare graduates for the highest level of nursing practice and to prepare nursing faculty to meet the growing need for nurse educators.

The degree changes and additions must now be approved by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia before becoming effective.

The BOV also approved capital finance resolutions to allow the following projects on the Fairfax Campus to proceed:

• New student housing in the northeast sector of campus
  
• Renovations to Presidents Park
  
• Academic VII/Research II
  
• Softball field improvements
  
• Parking Deck III
  
• Hotel/conference center
  
• Student Union Building I addition and renovation
  
• Student Union Building II renovation
  
• Student Union III (part of the northeast sector development)

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