At its meeting this morning, Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved construction budgets for seven… At its meeting this morning, Pitt’s Board of Trustees approved construction budgets for seven projects at Pitt’s main campus.

The Board of Trustees approved resolutions from the Budget Committee and Property and Facilities Management Committee. Costs for the projects total $37.2 million.

In addition, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and biology department chairman Graham Hatfull made presentations.

Nordenberg highlighted the history of the regional campuses and impact Pitt has on the community.

He mentioned an increase in the average SAT scores of Pitt’s applicants, as well as the number of applications and the average class rank of applicants.

A sign of Pitt’s prestige, Nordenberg said, is its status as one of the top 10 recipients of National Institutes of Health research funding. The University received an additional $84 million in research funds from the NIH in the past year, bringing the total to more than $730 million.

Nordenberg said that state funding for Pitt, on the other hand, has risen less than the level of inflation over the past 10 years.

Afterward, Hatfull spoke briefly about the Phage Hunter program—a research innitiative he heads that focuses on expanding science education.

The best scientists, he said, have creative minds and can approach problems from different viewpoints.

“Science advances and flourishes when you have a diverse community doing the science,” he said. “Diverse demographically but diverse academically as well.”

The program, partially funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, helps bring “novice scientists” into the research process, he said.

The organizers have taught students and community members to take data and samples from the field, analyze results and create publishable research.

Recently, a team of more than two dozen students working with the program published a paper on bacteriophages, viruses that affect bacteria.

The board approved renovation in the Barco Law Building, Chevron Science Center, Eberly Hall, the Cathedral of Learning and Posvar Hall. The board also approved the construction of an expansion to the Bouquet Gardens apartment complex, which will add another 155 beds to the University in August 2011.

All of the projects had been approved by the Property and Facilities Management Committee and the Budget Committee in previous meetings. The next full board meeting will be in February.