Correction appended
The current and planned renovations of Stocking, Rice and Warren Halls will displace 822 people — including faculty, staff and students — in the College of Agriculture and Life Science for several years.
According to Max Pfeffer, senior associate dean of CALS, some of the affected CALS faculty and students are relocating to various buildings on campus, including Morrison Hall, Mann Library and the facilities of the Department of Plant Biology.
As a result of the renovations, Prof. Syed Rizvi, food science, had to move his lab from Stocking Hall to Morrison Hall.
“The new facility is nice, but it’s definitely an inconvenience to have your lab in a different building,” Rizvi said. Still, he said, “we are adjusting to it and we are looking forward to having a better facility in the long run.”Only a handful of affected professors could be reached Monday night.The renovations will affect the Department of Food Science, the Department of Natural Resources, the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, the Department of Development Sociology, and some associate programs, according to the University.“This is a great opportunity to upgrade our buildings, and we’re really happy there’s funding from the state for us to do this. We’re very grateful to all the programs on campus who are helping to accommodate us,” Pfeffer said.The estimated total budget for the projects is approximately $152 million, according to the University’s 2010-2011 Financial Plan. At $101.8 million, the renovation and expansion of Stocking Hall is the most expensive of the planned renovations and the University’s third most expensive capital project, according to the Financial Plan.Despite the inconveniences caused by temporary relocations, Pfeffer said the renovations were necessary.“A lot of the buildings on the CALS campus are severely in need of renovation,” Pfeffer said. He added that the renovations are long overdue and a lot of the facilities are outdated.Construction began in Stocking Hall on Feb. 4, according to the University. Just down Tower Road, Stocking Hall is also adjacent to the Dairy Bar and Plant, which were relocated to Kennedy Hall due to the impending renovations.
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that renovations displaced 822 CALS faculty members. In fact, the number of affected faculty, staff and students totals 822.
Original Author: Hank Bao