Washington State University’s Board of Regents on Friday approved the university’s capital and operating budget requests, which will be considered by the State Legislature in 2009.

The capital requests include $7.4 million in design funding for a veterinary medical research building in Pullman, $15.75 million for a wastewater reclamation project and $16.1 million to turn the Bookie building in Pullman into classroom space. The Bookie will vacate its current building and move to the
renovated Compton Union Building, which will open this fall.

Included in the operating budget is $18 million to overhaul the university’s core computer systems; $5 million in funding for the School of Global Animal Health; $3 million for public safety and emergency management funding; money to fund salary increases for faculty, staff and graduate students, and funding to support higher enrollments.

The regents also approved several fee increases for the upcoming academic year. Generally, service and activities fees and health fees were raised by five percent. The regents approved a 6.64 percent increase in the per semester fees for Pullman students for use of the Student Recreation Center.

In other action, the board approved the creation of a bi-state School of Food Science, in collaboration with the University of Idaho. The action merges food science faculty and programs from the WSU Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition with those from the UI Department of Food Science and Toxicology.