At the University’s Board of Regents final meeting of 2011 on Thursday, members will vote on the proposed Michigan Investment in New Technology Startups initiative.

The MINTS program, which was announced by University President Mary Sue Coleman in an address in October, will make long-term investments of up to $500,000 in start-ups created by University faculty members as a means of diversifying the University's long term investments. The funding will be available to any start-up that fulfills the requirements.

“This way, again, we’re not picking winners and losers at all,” Coleman said in October. “What we’re doing is simply saying to the faculty start-up, ‘(If) you get money from a venture capital firm, we will automatically invest up to $500,000.’ We’ll scale it depending on what they get from the venture capital firm.”

Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, wrote in a communication to the regents that MINTS is estimated to require a $25 million investment by the University over the next 10 years, will come from the endowment, which is currently worth $7.8 billion.

When Coleman announced the initiative, she said the program offers more variation in the University’s investment portfolio.

“Now I want to be clear: This is not a new expense on the part of the University,” Coleman said at the time. “Rather, we are diversifying our assets.”

Regents to consider $88 million in new construction

The regents will also vote on three new construction projects totaling $88.3 million.

The projects include a 62,500 square-foot addition to the George Granger Brown Memorial Laboratories — which will house the Department of Mechanical Engineering on North Campus — and renovations to the Charles T. Munger Residences in the Lawyers Club, the John P. Cook Building and the Trauma Burn Center at the University Hospital.

The addition to G. G. Brown is intended to support more interdisciplinary efforts between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and other University departments, as well as add faculty and graduate student office space, according to Slottow’s communication to the regents.

Updating the infrastructure of the Lawyers Club will renovate 92,000 square feet of residence hall space and 67,000 square feet in the club wing. The renovation includes the installation of air conditioning and highspeed Internet as well as heating and plumbing improvements, according to the communication.

The plans also include increasing energy efficiency by 30 percent. Funding for the project will come from a $20 million gift as well as other investment returns and funds from the Lawyers Club.

The renovations proposed to the Trauma Burn Center are the first major updates since 1986 when the unit was built, Slottow and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Ora Pescovitz wrote in a communication to the regents. The changes include upgrading treatment rooms and lighting, as well as building a physical therapy room and an occupational therapy room.

“Since then, the delivery of medicine has changed, and now the physical constraints of the unit reduce staff efficiency and effectiveness,” Slottow and Pescovitz wrote. “The unit will undergo renovations to improve staff efficiency and create a more healing environment for patients and families.”

MSA name change to be approved

The Michigan Student Assembly announced at the end of last month that it will change its name to the Central Student Government starting next semester.