The Board of Trustees approved $7.9 million dollars Friday to pay construction-related expenses on the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

The Capital Development Board, which holds the title to Doudna until it is completed, has asked Eastern to begin processing its portion of construction payments.

“The payments will not exceed the $7,894,226 authorized by the board for these payments,” said Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs.

The $7.9 million in bond money was committed to construction in February 2005.

The board also approved around $300,000 to upgrade Eastern’s WebCT course management system.

The board also discussed the following items at their first meeting of the semester:

EIU Reads

BOT Chairman Robert Webb gave the board a homework assignment for their next meeting.

Webb told the board he expected them to read “A Hope in the Unseen,” the novel chosen for the EIU Reads campaign.

The campaign, which was a summer reading initiative, required incoming freshmen to read a book and complete homework and reading circle assignments.

So far, more than half of incoming freshman have turned in their homework assignments.

“Fifty-nine percent of students have completed and turned in their homework,” said Bonnie Irwin, dean of the honors college.

Irwin said that the freshmen who did not turn in their homework would be reminded that the program is a requirement.

Seventy-eight percent of students who were expected to attend reading circles did, Irwin said.

“Not everyone liked this book or finished this book, but they engaged with this book,” she said.

Levi Bulgar, student executive vice president, participated in the reading circles and said the program seemed successful.

“When we got into the group circles, it was amazing to see how many students read the book,” he said.

Bulgar said he believes the program gave incoming freshmen a sense of community with other Eastern freshmen.

Within the next month, Irwin expects the book for 2008’s EIU Reads program to be chosen.

Three books are being considered, Irwin said.

“Mountains Beyond Mountains” tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer, a physician in Haiti.

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time” is a first-person narrative about a 15-year-old autistic boy.

The final option, “The Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy,” was written by an economist and follows a T-shirt from production to a consumer product.

Eastern Athletics

Interim Athletic Director Ken Baker told the board about the academic achievements of Eastern athletes.

The Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner’s honor roll inducted 167 students last year. Thirty student athletes had a GPA of 4.0, Baker said.

“That is the highest in the OVC,” he added.

Baker recognized the track teams for their OVC championships as well as the football team for winning the OVC conference title and the OVC Sportsmanship Award.

Jason Hall, assistant athletic director for compliance and academic services, said head coach Bob Spoo was very proud of the sportsmanship award and told his team they were going to win the championship and sportsmanship awards again this year.

Eastern President Bill Perry echoed Spoo’s sentiment on the importance of the sportsmanship award.

“I told the students athletes that they need to be the strongest possible student, the strongest possible athlete and they need to represent the university with honor,” Perry said. “And that is why the sportsmanship award trophy is the most important to me.”

The next board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 30.