New ETSU humanities building at bottom of list for state funding

Following the release of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s proposed state budget, many ETSU students, faculty, staff and supporters noticed a distinct lack of funding regarding the new humanities building that has occupied headlines on campus and in the community.

The proposed project would cost roughly $72 million with the vast majority of the funding coming from state revenue.

While providing potentially record funding across campus, Lee’s budget makes no mention of the project outside of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s Capital Projects Recommendation for the coming year. The recommendation lays out the need-based priority of each project submitted to the commission, and currently the humanities building sits at No. 8, the bottom of the list. Sitting above it currently is a request of $51 million for an MTSU applied engineering building. 

While odds may seem dour for the short-term prospects of the project, ETSU President Brian Noland explained that making the list in the first place is important for ETSU. 

“We are one of a few institutions who’s had a project on the list for three consecutive years, which means we’re one of the top eight priorities for the state of Tennessee from a capital perspective,” said Noland after Gov. Lee’s State of East Tennessee Address Thursday.

Noland expressed a desire for a potential investment of planning funds to advance the progress made on the project.

“As you heard the governor say, he’s committed to capital,” said Noland. “So the fact that we’re on the list puts us in a position to continue to move forward. You know, the Martin Center is coming up and out of the ground. That project went on the list in 1986.”

When it comes to student expectations, Lee expressed a general interest in education from beginning to end. 

“We want our facilities to be everything they can be for students that are in our institutions of higher learning,” said Lee. “We’re excited about the investments we’ve made. We’re most excited about the investment in general. When we invest in education in general, we elevate K through J, we elevate from kindergarten through the time that someone attains a job. And that includes the elevation of our post-secondary and higher education institutions, so I’m excited about what’s happening on this campus and on campuses all across the state.”