Construction continues with art center expansion

Three construction projects are going on at the University; the University Center renovation, the grounds beautification of the Robert R. Muntz Library and the Art Center addition. Construction and renovation of the UC will be completed by the end of Spring Break 2010, Gregg Lassen, vice president of business affairs, said.

Utilities workers labor to prepare the building for occupancy. Construction on the Art Center addition is expected to be completed and ready for students use in the spring.

Students should not plan on parking in front of the UC this semester. The construction and beautification going on in front of the Robert R. Muntz Library is now completed and offers students a quiet area to study near a water fall, a meandering brook and a pond. The Art Center expansion which began this summer should be completed by the end of 2009.

Lassen said when the UC opens in 2010 it will once again be the center of student life. When students enter they will come into an open space with a suspended stair case and a coffee bar nearby. The left side of the UC will feature new multi-level Barnes & Noble Patriot Bookstore with school supplies, school related merchandise and general interest books on the first floor. Text books will be housed on the second floor.

A University construction worker installs lengths of electrical metallic tubing, also known as EMT conduit, into one of the new drawing and painting classrooms.

Just past the bookstore will be Subway and the new location of the Grill Works, which will offer hamburgers. A new multi-functional auditorium on the right side of the UC will have a capacity of 350 people.

The rest of the multi-floor UC will combine different facets of student services; student services, student life, and resident life. The enclosed walkway, which currently connects the administration building to the UC, will also undergo an overhaul. The walk way will be widened and have glass widows along both sides. This will allow students greater access to the renovated UC, Lassen said

The beautification and construction in front of the Robert R. Muntz Library is complete. The project is a privately funded gift to the University by Mrs. Maurine Muntz to make the front of the library more inviting to students and provide them with an outdoor study area. Seating areas near both ponds are shaded by large trees. Each area has power hookups for laptops, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity to Patriot*Air. Students can sit at tables to study course work, sit on a bench and read a book or sit in the grass along the brook.

The Art Center expansion is nearly finished. The University Facilities department is working to complete the expansion during this fall semester. The expansion will increase the size of the art facilities by 30,000 square feet. It will house the art department Offices, art history lecture hall, faculty offices and studio space for painting, sculpture, wood shop, metal shop, welding and ceramics.