President David J. Skorton approved several critical capital projects May 21. The 12 small-scale initiatives will keep the university running smoothly while maintaining fiscal equilibrium.

All of the projects are critical to maintaining the university's mission or safety and have approved funding. Some are required to comply with health, safety or environmental regulations. Others address critical maintenance or will avoid greater costs that would accrue if further delayed. Several will enable departments to maintain the integrity of their core programs. The price tags range from $500,000 to $5 million, and none of these projects require issuance of new debt.

This is the second group of capital initiatives Skorton has approved since instituting a construction pause, Oct. 30, 2008, in effect until June 30, 2009. The pause has enabled administrators to prioritize new building and maintenance and better align funding and proposed uses. Skorton announced the first group of approved projects April 15.

The newly approved initiatives are:

• Harford Teaching and Research Center: Upgrades to the Concentrated Agricultural Feed Operation to comply with building, health and safety codes.
• Central Heating Plant: Replacement of a rotor to continue to supply campus with 10 percent of its electricity; another project entails repair and replacement of water treatment equipment to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, gain energy efficiencies and avoid costly future construction.
• Goldwin Smith Hall: Design and initial construction of a steam line.
• Olin Chemistry Research Lab: Renovation of the sixth-floor laboratory to meet building codes and maintain core programs.
• Baker Laboratory: Design and bid on a clean room to maintain core programs.
• Clark Hall: Design and bid on laboratory renovations to maintain core programs.
• Langmuir Laboratory: Design and replacement of 40-year-old condensing boilers to save on operating costs.
• Veterinary Education Center: Relocate the Veterinary Medicine Information Technology Department using previously approved funding.
• Ives Hall: Renovate a breezeway to comply with building codes.
• Arecibo Observatory: Construct a power system to comply with environmental regulations and meet observatory power requirements.
• Statutory colleges: Minor rehabilitation and repairs, using previously approved funding.

See "Budget Resources" at CUinfo (http://www.cuinfo.cornell.edu/) for more information on these and other approved capital initiatives, including each project's scope, justification, funding and status. Or go directly to http://www.fs.cornell.edu/fs/projects/intro.cfm.