The Board of Trustees approved cost increases for room and board and parking permits for the 2007-2008 school year at this morning’s meeting in Columbus.

The price of room and board will increase by about 4.7 percent, bringing the total cost of a double room and the university’s basic meal plan to $7,200. This is $320 more than the average rates from the 2006-2007 school year.

“We have seen significant increases in the cost of utilities and the cost of employee benefits,” President Lester Lefton said. “As electric and gas companies continue to increase rates, this isn’t something we can continue to absorb.”

The range of prices for parking passes will increase from $75-150 to $100-165. Lefton said the increases were modest, and Kent State’s parking rates are significantly less than Ohio’s other universities, such as Ohio State, where prices reach more than $500.

“We have built new parking lots, and we have tried to create more convenient parking for students, realizing they have to come to class from jobs or go to critical internships off campus,” Lefton said.

The Board also approved the following items:

• The naming of the Daily Kent Stater’s editor’s office in honor of Helen Dix, the paper’s first female editor.

• The sale of 13.75 acres of university property to Robinson Memorial Hospital for $1.375 million.

• The construction of a $14.8 million health sciences building at the Ashtabula campus.

• The construction of a science building at the Stark Campus, which is estimated to cost about $10.5 million.

• The renovation to the second, fourth and 10th floors of the University Library, which will cost more than $2 million, part of which will come from private donations.

• Renovations for Dix Stadium, which will cost about $1.8 million.

Contact administration reporter Tim Magaw at [email protected].