April 21, 2005

Summer term brings construction, improvements to Antioch campus

By Jim Tomlinson

Beginning this summer, the Antioch College campus will be bustling with construction work as Antioch begins the first phase of campus building improvements, as called for in the renewal plan.

Three projects, which will be conducted simultaneously, include the demolition of the Presidents dormitory at East North College and Livermore Streets, the renovation of the Birch dormitory on Corry Street, and improvements to the first and second floors of the Science Building.

The college intends to spend $1.3 million on this round of campus improvements, Antioch announced in a press release.

The renewal plan, also known as the Plan for Antioch College, calls for revamping the curriculum, increasing student enrollment, solidifying Antioch’s financial health and improving a number of buildings on campus.

“Instead of pursuing a facility master plan, we’re proceeding in phases methodically that are governed by what we want facilities to be, and realistically tied to what we can afford,” Rick Jurasek, the interim college president, said in an interview.

The construction work in Birch Hall and the Science Building will happen immediately after the college’s commencement on Friday, April 22, Jurasek said, while the Presidents buildings are expected to be razed in May.

Antioch plans to upgrade and outfit the first floor of the Science Building to accommodate new classroom space for students who will study in learning communities, which will involve two to three professors teaching up to 45 students in integrated classes. The architectural plan, designed by the firm Schooley-Caldwell of Columbus, integrates multiple classrooms in the building to house each learning community.

The building will receive new floors, lighting, paint, furniture and technology such as Internet portals and laboratory upgrades. “It will be contemporary and functional,” Jurasek said of the building.

Madeline Lance, director of campus and residential life at the college, said that changes to the dormitories are a primary concern of the renewal plan.

“A lot of learning happens in residence halls that we’re losing out on,” Lance said. She said she hopes that redesigning the student living environments at Antioch will give them “a more important role within the academic community.”

According to Lance and the college’s press release, changes to Birch include increasing the number of rooms available for students; installing 46 private bathrooms to replace the communal bathrooms in place; installing new laundry and kitchen facilities; constructing new outdoor and indoor interactive areas for students; and adding a study and print center for student use.

The renovations in the Birch dormitory were devised by a committee charged with examining the college’s physical plant and technology, Lance said.

Lance said that she is interested in making student living environments comfortable and conducive to learning. “I think it’s important for student housing to have public and private spaces, to be more home-like,” said Lance.

Once Presidents dormitory is demolished, the college hopes to construct a new dorm in its place, the press release states.

Jurasek said that “we would justify construction of a new dorm for two reasons,” to make sure students would have access to first-rate housing and to fulfill the college’s goal to grow financially.

Until a new dorm is built on the Presidents’ site, Jurasek said the area would resemble a park. “Grass, Frisbee, spontaneous soccer games” would be its primary business, until more funds may be made available for construction, he said.

Jurasek said that the second phase of campus renovations will be much more expansive and ambitious, though he could not say when these changes would take place.

“When we assume we have sufficient money in hand to build a new student union, dormitory and library,” the effort to renew Antioch College will be more fruitful, he said.