Renovations
continue around campus
Plemmons
Student Union, Holmes Center projects at top of list
Catherine
Quill - Business Affairs Beat
Although students
received a long break from their studies at Appalachian State University,
construction continued across campus, while plans were made for
new projects to begin later in the year.
According to
Clyde Robbins, director of Design and Construction, renovations
to Plemmons Student Union are "well underway"and are expected
to be completed this summer.
Renovations
to the student union include the remodeling of Alpine Lounge, the
creation of a volunteer-outreach center, an enlarged Peer Career
Center, offices for Black Student Association (BSA) and Club Council,
and large meeting rooms to replace the old bowling alley.
As well, work
is progressing on the heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) system in Chapell Wilson Hall.
The grading
contractor for the Rivers Street Parking Deck, a new parking facility
with 720 spaces for staff, faculty, students and visitors, also
worked over the holiday break.
Some items
have been completed from the George M. Holmes Convocation Center
punch list. Although the Holmes Center hosted a basketball game
between Appalachian State and the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill on Nov. 17, the building still had a list of repairs
to be completed.
The recently
passed higher-education bond will allow several construction projects
to begin later this year. "The very first one will be the academic
building in the Living-Learning Center," said Robbins.
Robbins also
said the building will be designed to correspond with the academic
portion of the building.
The Living-Learning
Center will be located at the site of the chancellorÕs former residence.
It will also essentially be a new residence hall, as it will be
able to house 320 co-ed students.
Plans now are
for the Living-Learning Center to house the Watauga College program
and possibly international students.
Robbins said
work is scheduled to begin on the biology annex, an addition to
Rankin Science Building, in March.
Lack of space
and safety issues are two main reasons for the renovations to the
building, which was built in the 1960s.
Completion
of the unfinished rooms in the Chemistry, Astronomy and Physics
(CAP) Science Building will also begin later this year.
"These
are probably the only bond projects that will be under construction
this year," said Robbins.
Robbins expects
bad weather to be a factor affecting the completion dates of some
of the projects that are already underway.
"It's definitely
caused a delay with the convocation center," said Robbins,
who added that completion of the landscaping is not feasible during
the recent winter weather.
The Rivers Street
Parking Deck is facing similar problems, with cold weather and snow
preventing contractors from being able to pour concrete. Contractors
have not been able to complete the retaining wall in the parking
lot being built on Hill Street.
Robbins said
construction at the Living-Learning Center has been at a "standstill,"
but added work can still be done to indoor projects (such as the
chancellor's new residence) and grading can still be completed at
certain sites.
Aside from
weather delays, Robbins said no other problems have arisen with
the current projects.
Computer
theft fuels new progam
ASU
Police, The Appalachian kick off Crime of the Week to deter campus
crime
Sarah
Sparks - Police Beat
The Appalachian
State University Police Department recently began a new program
to promote campus involvement in crime fighting.
The department
will announce a Crime of the Week via The Appalachian, in hopes
that students will be able to supply information leading to the
resolution of the crime, said Major Larry Foster.
The Crime of
the Week for Jan. 7-13 involves a pair of computers that were stolen
prior to Winter Break.
One computer
was stolen from room 219 in Chapell Wilson Hall on Tuesday, Nov.
28. This computer was a university IBM Thinkpad laptop, said Sgt.
Stacy Sears.
The other computer,
also an IBM Thinkpad, was stolen out of a private room in East Hall.
The theft from room 225 occurred on Sunday, Dec. 10, just prior
to the start of the break, said Foster.
Any student
with information regarding the missing computers should contact
the police department at 262- 2150 or the Watauga County Crimestoppers
Hotline at 262-4555.
As with most
local crimes, a reward is being offered through the Crimestoppers
Hotline for any information leading to the recovery of the computers
or the arrest of any guilty party.
Students should
also keep an eye out for future Crime of the Week features in order
to aid the efforts of the University Police Department, said Sears.
University
purchases old Alliance Bible building for Communication Disorders
Clinic
ASU News
Bureau
Appalachian
State University has purchased Alliance Bible FellowshipÕs stone
building at the corner of Depot and Rivers streets to house its
Communication Disorders Clinic, which serves thousands of area residents
with speech and hearing problems.
The Communication
Disorders Clinic is a non-profit organization associated with the
Reich College of Education (RCOE) Department of Language, Reading
and Exceptionalities.
The two-story,
10,000-square-foot building will allow the clinic to increase services
so that it can reduce or eliminate the three-month waiting period
currently experienced by clients, says RCOE Dean Charles Duke.
The building
was purchased for $1.03 million, using assets from University Bookstore
revenues, New River Light & Power Company operations and gifts.
Building renovations will start later this year. The clinic will
move from its current location in Edwin Duncan Hall once construction
has been completed.
The Communication
Disorders Clinic operates as a training facility for students in
the communication disorders program and offers quality professional
services to community members.
Those services
include evaluation and treatment of speech, language and hearing
problems for children, adults and older people.
Specifically,
there are clinics for pre-schoolers and adolescents at risk for
developing poor communication skills, a fluency support-group for
stutterers, newborn hearing screenings and outreach services to
medical centers and correctional facilities.
"The new
facility will have more room, better accommodations for clients,
and in turn help attract students and clients," says clinic
director Mary Ruth Sizer.
The clinic
currently is housed in a cramped 4,000-square-foot space. Although
its equipment represents the best technological capabilities available
in the field today, most diagnostic and therapy rooms barely can
accommodate two people. The rooms are so close to each other and
to classrooms that conversations can be overheard.
As well, clients,
many of whom are elderly or handicapped, have complained of difficulty
finding daytime parking at the university.
The new facility
will feature more client privacy. Rooms will more comfortably fit
the client, staff member, parents and one or two students, with
parking available right next to the building.
"We have
the only professional board-certified clinic at the university level
in North Carolina, but with our current space we are also in the
poorest condition. More people will want to use the facility if
it's more accessible and appealing," Sizer says.
The Communication
Disorders Clinic is accredited by the Professional Services Board
of the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA).
The professional
staff includes audiologists and speech-language pathologists who
are licensed by the state of North Carolina and certified by the
ASHA.
The clinic began
in 1968 with a grant from the North Carolina Scottish Rite Masonic
Foundation, Inc.
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