UPR-Mayagüez campus invests $800K in campus upgrades
The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus (RUM, in Spanish) announced the completion of an improvement plan focused on four main areas: maintenance, cleaning, gardening and infrastructure, at a cost of some $800,000 from the college’s institutional funds.
The work was done while students have been studying online and off-campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, school officials said.
“It’s important to comply with this plan, so that our students return to a campus that’s in optimal conditions, once we end this period we’re experiencing,” said Agustín Rullán-Toro, rector of the RUM. “Although a good part of our institution’s staff works remotely, as does the student body, we aspire to have facilities in better conditions than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The plan covers different areas of the campus and takes into account the needs of the community in general: teaching and non-teaching staff, students and visitors, said Omar Molina, dean of the RUM.
The maintenance and grounds crew were trained to do their job during the pandemic, including disinfecting common areas and bathrooms, and were provided with face masks, sanitizer dispensers, face shields, and wall thermometers at a cost of $300,000 in institutional funds from the Dean’s office, university officials said.
The RUM’s administration presented competitive proposals to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency mitigation funds, securing $14 million for four improvement projects, namely the rehabilitation of the campus’ rainwater system and the school’s drinking water supply system, among others.
The RUM has also opened a bidding process for a resurfacing project of several of the university’s main roads, which requires an investment of some $600,000.
