The Board of Trustees of Illinois State University approved the construction of a Star Ginger restaurant in the Bone Student Center. The Asian grill and noodle bar will be located on the second floor of Bone Student Center is part of that facility’s overall revitalization project. The $1.3 million approved by Trustees will cover the cost of constructing a production kitchen, serving area and graphics package to meet Star Ginger corporate requirements. Money for the project comes from bond revenue.

The Board of Trustees also approved a six-month agreement with Connect Transit to allow Illinois State students, faculty, and staff to access Connect Transit buses with their Redbird Card ID. The agreement covers universal access to all Connect Transit routes as well as Redbird Express bus service on the Illinois State campus. The six-month $289,068 contract will be in effect from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020. With the addition of the newly approved contract, Illinois State’s overall FY2020 expenditure to Connect Transit totals $567,018 for bus service. Funding for the transit contract comes from student fee revenues.