THE BATTALION Page 3
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1980
local
A&M conferences attract many
By BECKY MATTHEWS
Campus Reporter
Approximately 30,000 people
ick to Texas A&M University each
|tar to attend conferences and con-
lentions hosted in the University
filter complex.
According to John Richards, man-
■er of the University Center sche
ming office, over 100 conferences
iJ
lywod
:hargB|
ersiJt
itlioiitj
serious
draft
are scheduled in the complex each
year. Of these, about 60 of them have
been held at Texas A&M more than
Richards says he estimates that
several million dollars go into the
Bryan-College Station economy
annually as a result of the confer
ences. Individuals who attend the
S council OK s
mprovement bids
By BECKY SWANSON
City StafF
studen f° r electrical improvements
id insulation for the Lincoln Cpm-
iunity ^Center were approved at a
lecial meeting of the College Sta-
n admi 1)11 City Council Thursday. The
that it > unc 'l a l s ° discussed alternatives
fraftpn rimproving Nimitz Street,
enlist] |A $9,500 contract was given to the
S&T Electric Co. to upgrade wiring
I the center’s gymnasium installa-
§)n of a baskethall scoreboard and
[hted exit signs.
City Manager North Bardell said
e new wiring was necessary to
indie increased lighting needs.
A$2,957 contract was given to the
Uurma Foam Co. for insulation of
e gymnasium.
Nimitz Street was moved up on
e priority list of streets to be im-
pioved because, Bardell said,
thanks
to you, I still
? lave a home.
I For over 30 years, Smokey has been
j Icing you to be careful with fire.
During that time, you’ve helped cut
enun)bcr of careless fires in half.
So from Smokey Bear and all of
1 who live in the forest, thanks for
Itening. And keep up the good work.
"We’re patching the patches.”
The council decided to have the
city e ngineer study two possible
ways of resurfacing Nimitz. One
alternative is to level and seal-coat
the street; the other is to curb and
gutter it and pave it with hot-mix
asphalt and concrete.
Bardell said the “ultimate goal” of
the city is to curb and gutter Nimitz
Street, but conflicts over property
boundaries will cause a delay in such
permanent construction.
Leveling and seal coating will take
less time, Bardell said, and this can
be done “as soon as the weather
breaks” since it will not depend on
settling the boundary conflicts.
The results of the city engineer’s
study and a formal recommendation
from the city staff will he presented
to the Council at the next regular
meeting on Feb. 14.
conferences typically spend money
on hotel rooms, eating out and
buying souvenirs in local stores.
A substantial amount of this in
come is channelled into the Univer
sity Center economy because of the
MSC Guest Rooms, the Food Ser
vices operation in the MSC and Rud
der and the MSC Bookstore.
There are several reasons why so
many conferences are held at Texas
A&M, Richards said.
“One of the tremendous advan
tages we have over most universities
is the fact that the student center and
the conference center are adjoining
each other,” he said. Facilities avail
able for conferences in the Universi
ty Center complex include a built-in
hotel (MSC Guest Rooms), food faci
lities, audip-visual equipment,
meeting rooms of various sizes and
parking.
According to Richards, the Uni
versity Center charges a minimal
amount for room cleaning and for
audio-visual equipment use. Also
the MSC Guest Rooms charge $19 to
$22 per room depending on room
type and the number of occupants.
Richards says the low cost is “part of
the charm of having conferences
here.”
He also says that the University
benefits from hosting the confer
ences because it “advertises and
promotes the University all over the
country. He also says that a lot of
people are very impressed with the
University Center facilities and the
impression of the University they
gain from the conference helps to get
rid of people’s preconcerned nations
of Texas A&M.
“We try to make everyone think
that there is one exceptional confer
ence each year and that conference is
yours,” he states. He tries to imple
ment this philosophy in his day-to-
day operation. He has an inch-thick
Pile labeled “Nice Letters” from indi
viduals who have attended confer
ences at Texas A&M.
Conferences range in size from 15-
person NASA workshops to the
Municipal Fire Training School,
which has 3,000 people. They also
range in subject from conferences on
agricultural products to teaching.
According to Bill Hensel, the
manager of the University Center
complex, the budget for the schedul
ing office is about $70,000 a year.
This figure includes salaries and
wages, office supplies and equip
ment and Data Processing Center
costs.
Richards estimates that approxi
mately one-half of scheduling’s
budget goes toward conference sup
port. The other half goes toward the
regular scheduling duties since his
office is responsible for scheduling
almost all of the facilities in the MSC
and Rudder.
To be eligible to host a conference
in the University Center facilities, an
organization must be a recognized
student organization or affiliated
with the University in a direct way.
State or federal agencies are also able
to use the facilities.
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