Editorial Cartoon: EIU squirrels
An updated version of the Master Plan was revealed to the faculty senate Tuesday.
Brandon Lipman, from Loebl, Schlossman and Hackl Design, led the presentation of the Master Plan, exhibiting the changes from multiple angles.
William Weber, vice president for business affairs, Gary Reed, director of facilities planning and management and Steve Shrake, associate director for design and construction, added additional content for the plan.
“This is an update to the existing Master Plan,” Lipman said, stressing that this plan was not an entirely new design.
The new Master Plan also integrated the Athletics Master Plan and Campus Landscape Master Plan. The central focus of this presentation was to illustrate the placement of a new Biological Sciences building and Student Services building.
The plan shows the Biological Sciences Building built within the practice field near Tarble Arts Center, also known as the tundra. The southern side of the building will have five stories of solar panels with the ground floor serving as a greenhouse.
“This will be a very sustainable building. A building with solar technologies,” Lipman said.
The current Student Services building will be demolished and combined with the old power plant in order to open up the North Quad and create an easily accessible area for all student services.
After construction, the academic departments will move around accordingly: the mathematics, economics and political science department will be in the old Biological Science building; the Biological Science Annex will be demolished; the Physical Science Building will contain physics, psychology, geology, and geography; Coleman Hall will contain all of the arts and humanities departments; McAfee will stay relatively the same, mostly concerned with recreation, administration, and kinesiology; and Old Main will have only administration, while still keeping the classrooms available.
“Every student should have a class in Old Main,” said psychology professor John Best when questioning the depicted uses of Old Main as only an administration building.
Weber stressed that the department offices would be in the old Biological Sciences Building, while classes may still be in Old Main.
The Master Plan also showed some other differences. There would be a new football field constructed where the current campus pond is, along with two other practice facilities in west side of campus.
“We’ll move the track away from the football field, because the track separates the fans,” Weber said. The models also did not depict a new area for the campus pond, but Weber insisted that Eastern wants to keep that.
The final presentation of the plan to the campus and community will take place on Oct. 20 at 1:30 p.m. in the University Ballroom and at 6:00 p.m. in the Charleston Public Library.
Weber also addressed the senate about the new Renewable Energy Center.
“This project is going on schedule. I fully anticipate to start actual shake down of equipment in late spring,” he said. “We will be running the two systems simultaneously for about a year so that there are no issues once the other is turned off, it’s off.”
The new Renewable Energy Center will have a gasifier that will burn 2-inch wood chips as biomass for the energy. Additionally, there is a chance that the Energy Center will get a smaller research gasifier in order to experiment on other types of biomass.
“This is a real opportunity for Eastern and its students. It looks like Eastern. I’m quite pleased with the progress on this,” Weber said.
Next for the Master Plan will be the Renewable Energy Symposium, which will take place on Oct. 13 at 1:00pm in the Grand Ball Room.
