Newest Building Goes On Line

"These things are never fun-it was chaos, with boxes everywhere," said history chair James Olson. "But overall I found the Physical Plant people to be very accommodating and thoughtful."

Olson agreed that the transition from the Estill Building to AB4 was a smooth one, with only slight miscommunications between the movers and faculty members in his department over things such as when desks would be moved.

"I didn't have any complaints from anyone in my department (about the move), which is unusual, so it has gone well," Olson said.

Greening attributes how well the move went to weekly meetings they held.

"We had commissioning meetings every Friday morning (during the move) with a representative from each department that was moving there to discuss any problems they were having," he said.

Faculty and staff began the move in mid-December, Greening said.

The first floor of AB4 now houses the testing, Honors, and scholarship offices and has one honors classroom. The S.A.M. Center, Computer Services, a computer lab, a 286-seat auditorium and classrooms are located on the second floor.

The library science department, psychology and philosophy department office, and classrooms are now on the third floor, as well as psychology faculty offices. The history department and philosophy faculty offices are on the fourth floor.

Though those groups are moved into the building, there are still a few minor "punch-list items" that have yet to be completed.

"The inside of the building is ready to go, except for a few minor touch-up things they are working on," Greening said, which include paint touch-ups and a leak in the roof on the interior.

The completion of the outside of the building is pending two ramps and some brick trim work on the exterior that could not be finished because the brick wasn't available at that time. Greening said it will be finished at a later date.

"They're finishing a ramp and a brick wall on the Academic Building 3 side of the building, and they will build a ramp between the building and Lee Drain," he said, adding that the ramps will be used to facilitate moving such things as equipment from building to building.

Now that those departments are moved out of their old spaces, other areas of campus will also be moving and other areas will be gaining more space.

The area used by the psychology department in the Lee Drain Building will house doctoral students, at least temporarily, Greening said.

The space left in the basement of the Newton-Gresham Library, where the library science department and the Academic Enrichment Center previously called home, will be "turned back over to the library," he added.

Though just in the planning phases, the library is planning to use the space to add librarian offices and a conference room and expand the government documents section and computer technicians' offices. The music listening room will be moved there, as well as a combined Copy Room, microforms room and interlibrary loans, according to library business manager Jackie Conrad.

In addition, the university archives will be moved from the Peabody Building to the fourth floor of the library due to the increased space.

"It's (the move is) going to affect three floors in the library," Conrad said. "Now we'll have access to the whole building."

In addition, the Estill Building will receive four new departments in the classroom and office spaces vacated by the history department.

"The offices on the third floor will be split for Purchasing and Human Resources," Greening said. "Purchasing is moving in this week and Human Resources will be moving in next week."

This move will also include a renovation project on the third floor for new Registrar and Payroll offices, which are currently in the Bobby K. Marks Administration Building.

"We're getting ready to send a contract to the Board (of Regents) for their February meeting for Registrar renovation," he said. "We will begin construction no later than March."

Olson said though the history department is quite satisfied with their new home in AB4, he will miss the Estill Building for personal reasons.

"I came here in 1972, so I spent 31 years in the old building," he said. "It's kind of like home to me, so I miss it for nostalgia reasons."

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SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt
Jan. 14, 2003
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