NORMAL — Illinois State University is moving forward with several multimillion-dollar renovation and upgrade projects around campus, including planning for a possible new building.
The ISU Board of Trustees approved the projects at its meeting on Friday, where it also approved a separation agreement with former president Terri Goss Kinzy and named Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Aondover Tarhule as interim president.
Projects include a $2.5 million renovation to the second floor of the Rachel Cooper Building, $1.75 million in pre-construction services for Williams Hall, $550,000 renovation of the athletics business office, $4 million in pre-construction services for a new STEM (science, technology, Engineering and mathematics) building with a greenhouse and $3 million to replace structures destroyed by a fire at the university farm near Lexington.
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The new STEM building would hold nine science labs, as well as have a greenhouse on top. The greenhouse would be the long-term replacement to the current greenhouse next to Felmley Science Annex, board documents say. The total project is expected to cost between $40 and $50 million.
The current greenhouse is not safe to be used for teaching, said Vice President for Finance and Planning Dan Stephens. It would be temporarily replaced by a new facility next to the Carter Harris building, which would become the Facilities Services Plant Greenhouse once the building and greenhouse were completed.
“This is a topic that’s evolved over time but we feel very strong about where we’re heading with this,” he said.
The additional labs would help accommodate growing numbers of students in STEM fields, Tarhule said. Those numbers are expected to increase further with the addition of the newly created College of Engineering and expansion of the Mennonite College of Nursing. The labs might be built in stages, with the initial construction including some labs and the rest not being outfitted until later.
The board only voted on, and approved, $4 million in pre-construction services such as architectural and engineering plans, for the STEM building and greenhouse project.
The Rachel Cooper Building project, which includes some work in the connected Fairchild Hall, will replace piping, ductwork and insulation, along with other building improvements. The project is expected to start in May and wrap up in August 2023.
The total work on Williams Hall is expected to be between $10 to $15 million, but on Friday the board only authorized the $1.75 million to do the architectural and engineering work needed to bid out the project. Planned work includes replacing the roof and asbestos abatement, along with changing the interior layout.
The end goal is to consolidate all of the Center for Integrated Professional Development on the third floor of the building.
The work in CEFCU Arena, on Room 150, will allow the athletics business office to move into there, in turn allowing the women’s basketball and volleyball offices to move into the former athletics business office. The move is meant to ensure the women’s offices are in line with the men’s basketball office size.
“University leadership is committed to ensuring parity between men's and women’s programs,” Tarhule said when presenting the resolution.
Athletic director Kyle Brennan said this is something the staff is looking at constantly.
“We’re looking at it constantly. This is the first one that popped out at us,” he said.
Kathryn Bohn, board secretary and interim chair, noted that it had only taken “50 years after Title IX to get this disparity fixed.”
The construction at the farm will replace facilities and materials lost to a fire in November of last year.
The farm project is expected to have $2.9 million covered by insurance and the remaining $100,000 from the deductible. Tarhule said that further resolutions and funds may be needed to get the farm back to full operations.
The university has already spent $575,000 to cover work to date but anticipates being reimbursed for these costs.