Wednesday, August 22, 2001
Classrooms renovated in 10 buildings on campus
By Jordan Blum
staff reporter

When he entered Winton-Scott Hall, junior business major Tim Davis immediately noticed the freshly painted walls and the newly upholstered deskseats.

“I didn’t even know TCU was changing any classrooms,” Davis said. “It’s a nice surprise that’ll keep students more comfortable and focused on lectures.”

The complete renovation of 78 classrooms throughout campus comprised the bulk of approximately $6 million spent on campus improvements during the summer, said Jim Weller, associate director of the physical plant.

“The typical classroom renovation was to go in a room, gut it out and, if need be, abate any kind of environmental hazard that might have been there,” Weller said.Asbestos was found in some of the older classrooms in Winton-Scott Hall, Sadler Hall and Beasley Hall, but Weller said the substance posed no danger because it was stagnant in the floors and ceilings and hadn’t been broken up into the air.

He also said the bulk of the work in the buildings included new drop ceilings, lighting systems, air conditioning and ventilation, carpeting and desks and chairs. New audio/visual equipment includes mounted projectors, power screens, DVD players, computer jacks and cabinets to house the equipment.

Weller said renovations to 10 buildings over the summer kept plant management crews busy.

Summer school classes were affected by the renovations, said Leo Munson, associate vice-chancellor of academic affairs.

“We had to move virtually all of summer school,” Munson said. “We had half the buildings open for five weeks and then just the other half open for the next five weeks.”

Munson said he had hoped students would be more aware of the money behind the renovations.

“Whether the tuition increase is right or wrong, the thing that shocked me was that when we came out with it, nobody talked about the magnitude of change in the place where the students are going to spend the majority of their time — in the classroom,” Munson said.

Davis said he was glad to see some of his tuition money put to use.

“At least it’s good to know students are getting to see some of the benefits of the tuition hikes,” Davis said.

Tim Barth, psychology department chair, said the technological improvements will enhance professors’ ability to teach their students.

“Every faculty member is now moving toward more multimedia presentations,” Barth said. “So everything that’s been done this summer has allowed people to teach at a level that they would like to teach.”

The next renovations will probably focus on the science labs in the Sid W. Richardson Building and in Winton-Scott Hall, but no time table or budget has been set, Munson said.

Now the only problem is keeping the classrooms in good condition, Barth said.

“The only concern now is to keep food and drinks out of the classroom to keep them nice,” Barth said. “But this is probably going to be a battle that we’ll lose.”

Jordan Blum
jdblum@student.tcu.edu

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