The Board of Trustees will vote on a new degree program and give a statement on board responsibilities for Intercollegiate Athletics at their meeting 1 p.m. Friday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The degree program being voted on is a Master’s degree program in Biochemistry and Biotechnology. The Board of Trustees will be voting on whether or not to make it a program.

The M.S. approval will be effective in the Spring 2016 semester if the board approves it.

The M.S. is a program for students to gain the skill sets to improve products and services through different scientific and analytical techniques while also being trained in important business strategies.

These business strategies are to prepare the students for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical filed, or to take on advanced degrees in the medical sciences.

According to the board report, they anticipate the program enrolling 10 majors in the first year and 25 once the program is fully put into effect.

Paul McCann, vice president of business affairs, said there is some information they are providing to the board on athletics and about Title 9 the are required on an annual basis to provide.

“Those are pretty normal reports,” McCann said. “We give information on what (athletics) has done in the last year.”

The summary of purchases will also be given at the meeting.

“We are required by board regulations to provide them with a list of purchases between $100,000 and $250,000,” McCann said.

These purchases include beverages from Pepsi Mid America in Marion, edible and nonedible items for Chick-Fil-A from MBM Corporation in Atlanta, GA, elevator maintenance and software maintenance.

At the meeting It will be announced if the naming of university property will go forward. The property to potentially be named is the School of Technology Conference Room-Room #1151 in Klehm Hall.

McCann said there will be little  in the way of discussion at this meeting except for the president’s report.

“He will make some comments,” McCann said. “I think a lot of it will be about athletics and about the other things that are at the board meeting.”

University Highlights will be reported to the board.

“There are highlights of what have gone on, on campus,” McCann said. “That’s just a regular report the board is provided with.”

The highlights to be reported on at this meeting are Eastern’s rankings as one of the best online colleges in Illinois for 2015, the changes made in the website to be mobile-friendly, and the new transitional program started by the Autism Center to help incoming students with autism spectrum disorders navigate their new college environment. The program is called Students with Autism Transitional Education Program, or STEP.

Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]