The University of Memphis will implement a paid parental leave policy after the Board of Trustees approved funding for the plan Wednesday morning.

University President David Rudd said Memphis will be the first public higher education institution in Tennessee to offer paid leave for new parents, per a review done by a working group of the university's faculty senate.

The board endorsed moving forward with such a policy in June, contingent on a funding plan. Wednesday's vote, done in a committee meeting, completes the board's involvement in developing the policy. The administration will now work with faculty and staff to write it.

Rudd said the policy will offer six weeks paternal or maternal leave for adopting or having a biological child. He said it will also "absolutely" extend to same-sex couples. The total expected cost is $715,000 a year.

Faculty senate president Tom Banning said the policy will be "all-inclusive."

"Its major intent is to recruit and retain young faculty," Banning said.

This is also a significant win for the faculty as it's the first major proposal the senate brought to the board, which is less than a year old.

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The Tennessee Board of Regents previously governed the university. Under TBR, the parental leave policy allowed for up to four months off but without pay once an employee used up sick time. After Gov. Bill Haslam's FOCUS Act created governing boards for universities across the state, including Memphis, the schools inherited TBR's policies until each board could modify as desired.

A survey of faculty and staff showed paid parental leave was a significant demand, Banning said. The senate put together a proposal and presented it to Rudd in April, with the board's initial approval a month later. Board chairman Alan Graf urged Rudd to have the policy in place "rapidly."

"We’re not reinventing the wheel here," Graf said. "There are many of these out there. Pick the best one and put a stamp on it."

Board member Susan Springfield, who is executive vice president and chief credit officer for First Horizon National Corporation and First Tennessee Bank, said in the corporate world, parental leave policies are growing in length as a way for companies to stay competitive.

"I applaud the university for taking this on," she said.

In other business, the board approved a $100,000 bonus for Rudd, but it will be paid for with private funds. Rudd is eligible for the bonus annually as part of a retention plan.

In the board's full business meeting later in the day, Tony Poteet, the university's assistant vice president for campus planning and design, updated the board on the master campus plan for renovating and building new facilities.

A student recreation center project, which was expected to cost more than $60 million, has been scaled down significantly to a $30 million project. The school will keep the existing rec center instead of tearing it down, but will add a new building between the current one and the railroad tracks to the north.

The result will be less debt for the university, Poteet said. Student fees will also not have to increase again to pay for operations of the facility. The university will be able to use the current fee level to pay for both construction and operations.

But the redesign will take time, he said, and construction won't begin for at least another year. The existing rec center will undergo renovations, mostly to the pool, in order to extend its life. No money from the fees will be used toward those renovations, Poteet said.

Students had previously raised concerns about their fees increasing for one project and going toward another.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.