Chelsea Bossert/Daily Mining Gazette Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Andrew Storer, brought forth multiple proposals during Friday’s regular meeting of the Michigan Tech BOT, including establishing a new School of Health, Human and Biological Systems within the College of Sciences and Arts.

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees met Friday and established a new school in the College of Sciences and Arts and created a new major in the College of Computing to meet the demands of a rapidly growing industry. As expected, the board raised tuition by 4.02 percent, a slight drop from last year’s increase. The general fund budget for fiscal year 2027 was approved without discussion.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Andrew Storer, said the creation of the new school, the School of Health, Human and Biological Systems, is in-line with the Tech Forward 2.0 initiatives, part of which prioritizes human health and research. “One of the Tech Forward 2.0 initiatives is going to be in the health arena,” Storer said. “And so, the new school will be central to that initiative.”

MTU President Richard Koubek, said the new Chang K. Park Center for Student Wellness will be breaking ground this summer. Storer added the new center is in its final pre-construction stages. “My understanding is that they’re in the advanced stages of the design of the structure,” he said. “[We’re] looking to break ground on it, later in the summer.”

Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts, LaReesa Wolfenbarger, said the new school will continue to push the college forward and blaze a trail in the newest chapter of Michigan Tech’s history. “It means we can be a leader and continue to be a leader on campus and elevate programs that are really important to health,” she said.

Wolfenbarger said current human health-focused departments — Biological Sciences, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology and Psychology and Human Factors, will be eliminated and integrated into the new school. “Structurally, we will no longer have the departments,” she said. “The faculty will all be, you know, one administrative unit, and the purpose of that is really to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations.”

In other action, the board approved the creation of a new bachelor’s of science degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Dave House Dean of Computing, Dennis Livesay, said the implementation of AI in Michigan Tech’s curriculum is essential in order for it to get ahead in the budding AI industry. “AI is revolutionizing all aspects of society and industry, and we’re implementing AI in many of our programs,” he said. “But we also wanted to create a degree that teaches students how to build AI systems.” Livesay said the new degree program could potentially catapult interest in Michigan Tech and boost enrollment in the near future.

“We view it as a growth vehicle for us,” he said. “And we view that it will be driving some of the changes in the computing space, [there’s] a lot of student interest in the program — students ask about it all the time.”

Other items on the BOT’s agenda, included awarding an honorary doctorate of philosophy to Trustee Jeffery Littmann, who will deliver the commencement address at today’s graduation ceremony. Sri Beldona, was appointed professor with tenure and will be the new Dean of the College of Business starting July 1.

In all, 19 promotions with tenure were approved by the board as well as granting Professor Emeritus status to Jaroslaw W. Drelich in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering.

BOT Treasurer, Carlos Rodriguez, also recommended the board approves him moving forward with contracting external auditing firm, Plante Moran, to perform Michigan Tech’s external audit before the end of fiscal year 2026. The board passed the action item without discussion.

Chair Jon Jipping announced the next regular meeting of the Michigan Tech BOT will be on July 30.