Gilkey Hall gets a $200,000 makeover
Gilkey hall one of several buildings to be renovated
Daniel Metcalfe
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News
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Members of various departments will gather at 10:30 a.m. today in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to re-open the building.
The renovations are part of the latest inter-department initiative to update 121 classrooms around campus in an effort to create a more comfortable and pleasing atmosphere for students and faculty, according Todd Simmons, assistant VP advancement and direct of news and communication.
Earlier this year OSU administration identified classroom enhancement as a priority for the university.
Upon touring the classrooms, Vice President of Finance and Administration Mark McCambridge, Provost Sabah Randhawa and several Facilities Services representatives agreed that Gilkey Hall would be a reasonable place to start.
The site of Gilkey Hall dates back to 1889, when Alpha Hall, a women's dormitory, occupied the property.
Alpha Hall stood until 1912, when it was demolished and a new Dairy Science Building, designed by famed architect John Bennes, was built in its place.
The building was renovated in 1951 and renamed the Social Science Building. It was then renamed once again in 2002 after Gordon Gilkey, who became head of the Art Department and, later, the first Dean of what is now the College of Liberal Arts.
Approximately $300,000 from OSU Facilities Services' deferred maintenance budget was allocated to update the first floor of Gilkey Hall, Steve LeBoeuf, manager of environmental health and safety said.
The four-month-long project was actually completed for about $200,000. Among cosmetic changes such as new, more modern flooring and freshly painted surfaces, the additions are to include ergonomically sensitive furniture and energy-conserving lights and windows in six classrooms in an effort to create a more attractive and energy-efficient building, Simmons said.
He added that the renovations also rendered the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Changes are already underway on Strand Agriculture Building and Cascade Hall as part of a plan to annually renovate campus buildings using money from a new Academic Modernization and Repair fund, Sabah Randhawa, OSU's Provost and Executive Vice President said.
Departments around campus will continue to set aside money from maintenance funds as well as private donors for future improvements.
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