By Montreal Spencer/south news editor
Four academic buildings on South Campus that date to the late 1960s are in the middle of a renovation.
Two buildings are complete, and two remain.
According to David Wells, vice chancellor of operations and planning services, the current budget is about $9.4 million.
Jo Bagley, vice president for teaching and learning services on South Campus, said administrators want to modernize each classroom in those buildings.
“It has a built-in computer, projectors and Internet access,” Bagley said.
“The teacher is able to control everything from the podium — lights, computer, everything.”
The buildings will get a design that adds a few more square feet to classroom space, she said.
“I think the buildings are beautiful, and I hope the students really enjoy them,” she said.
Normally, four academic buildings are open, but because of the renovations, one building is closed at a time.
SACD is currently being renovated.
Bagley said she has not seen much of an inconvenience because the school tries to move what it needs during semester breaks with the help of a moving company.
Media specialist Bill Engelke works in the first renovated building in the center for academic success.
“It has not had much of an effect on student services. They just juggle them [the students] around,” Engelke said. “With having one building out of service at a time, there has not been any crashes yet.”
Several South students like Jennifer Flynn said they were satisfied with the building renovations.
“I like it more than the old buildings. I think it’s more efficient and easier to navigate through the rooms,” she said.
Shana Ryan has several classes in one of the newly renovated buildings.
“I really like the new renovations to the SACA building. It’s more comfortable for those long waits between classes. I think it took a while, but it was well worth the wait,” she said.
Brent Howard thinks the renovations are a good move.
“I think it is great how they are upgrading the old buildings and still keeping them classy and classic,” he said. “The old buildings in comparison with the newly remodeled buildings are archaic and sincerely outdated,” he said.
Campus President Ernest Thomas said the buildings are a great addition to South Campus’ learning community.
“These renovations have allowed classrooms to be updated to state-of-the-art technology and will support faculty for teaching and learning opportunities,” he said.
“They’ve also allowed us to take advantage of the existing structures in terms of providing classroom space that is commensurate to our student’s learning needs.”
