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A flurry of construction during the summer months, including the completion of over 100 projects that each cost $15,000 or more, has changed the face of the campus students are returning to this fall. The efforts, totaling over $45 million, ranged from updated utilities to new furniture.
The construction supports the goals of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, Brown's guiding institutional strategy, in improving both infrastructure and student life, Vice President for Public Affairs and University Relations Marisa Quinn wrote in an e-mail.
The crown jewel of the summer projects, the approximately $18 million renovations to the J. Walter Wilson building, has created space for offices, classrooms and student services. Nine of the building's seminar classrooms will open for classes this semester, Quinn wrote.
The construction on J. Walter Wilson, which started in October 2007, won't be entirely finished until the middle of this October, said Raymond Bourcier, the building's project manager. Work on the front entry is continuing, and problems with the temperature and key card access are being worked out, he said.
Twelve departments moved into J. Walter Wilson in a week-and-a-half long process ending August 16, Bourcier said. One of those was the Office of Chaplains and Religious Life.
"I would say we were all moved in, but that would be a lie," said Rev. Janet Cooper-Nelson, Chaplain of the University.
The chaplains' office was in Faunce House for 55 years - Cooper-Nelson herself there for 17 - and those years take a while to move, she said.
Despite the ongoing work, Cooper-Nelson declared the project a success, citing the new technology and great views her new office offer.
University Mail Services also moved out of Faunce and into J. Walter Wilson, but Faunce isn't empty yet.
It will remain open this academic year, continuing to house the Student Activities Office, the Blue Room, the Campus Market, spaces for student groups and other services. The building will eventually be renovated to create the Stephen Robert '62 Campus Center, perhaps as soon as summer of 2009.
Elizabeth Gentry, assistant vice president for financial and administrative services, oversees Mail Services and the Brown Card Office, which also moved into J. Walter Wilson.
"Everyone is thrilled with the new space," she said, adding that regular communication and meetings eased the process. Mail Services, the Chaplains' office and the Card Office join other student services, including the Writing Center, Psychological Services and the financial aid office, in J. Walter Wilson.
Among other projects, the renovations to Pembroke Hall, which will house the Cogut Center for the Humanities and the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, will be completed during September, Quinn wrote.
The first of three phases of residence hall upgrades was completed, including work on Barbour, Caswell and Hegeman halls and the A tower of the Graduate Center, Quinn wrote, adding that remaining residence hall work will be completed during the next two summer vacations.
Utilities work intended to improve reliability and efficiency will be completed next summer, Quinn wrote, but street work will be done by the end of September.
Energy conservation efforts also have begun, with lighting upgrades and replaced steam traps, she wrote.
