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Clemson to invest $225 million in campus development by 2010
University President James F. Barker recently outlined a campus development plan that calls for an investment of $225 million in facility improvements, utility upgrades, and information technology.
The focus is on increasing and enhancing academic space; expanding research capacity; providing support systems to help faculty, staff, and students achieve their goals; and improving the quality of life for the students. By leveraging existing or appropriated state funds, institutional bond capacity, auxiliary revenues, and private gifts, Clemson expects to begin work on or complete some projects between now and 2010.
Upgrades in academic space include a number of renovations and expansions that will impact College of Engineering and Science (CoES) buildings and programs.
Rhodes Hall, home to Clemson’s internationally-known bioengineering program will be expanded to include an additional 24,000 square feet of research and teaching labs, offices, and smart classrooms. The addition will be located immediately south of Rhodes Hall and the building will be LEED Certified at the Silver Level.
“With the addition of our B.S. in bioengineering last year, we’ve experienced a real need for additional space in Rhodes Hall,” observed engineering and science Dean, Esin Gulari.
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Chemical and biomolecular engineering department chair, Jim Goodwin, surveys the high bay area of Earle Hall, which will be converted to offices, classrooms and new research labs.
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Outdated maintenance and instructional space in Earle Hall, home to the college’s chemical and biomolecular engineering department, will be converted to offices, classrooms and cutting-edge research laboratories. The renovation will provide 10,700 square feet of critically needed space.
“Sometimes, it’s just a matter of making the best use of the space we have,” Barker said. “There is much more to come. By 2010, fundraising should be well under way for a number of other major developments.”
One major CoES renovation being planned is an addition to Hunter Hall, where the CoES chemistry department is located.
Hunter, originally designed to accommodate 90 researchers, now has more that 120 researchers in multiple locations. A 25 percent increase in the graduate population over the last five years and an undergraduate teaching load increase of over 50 percent have resulted in insufficient teaching space and faculty office space. With the Hunter addition, the chemistry department can move toward realizing its potential as a nationally recognized research and teaching program.
Plans call for the Hunter addition to house high-end instrumentation facilities, including NMR spectroscopy, X-Ray Crystallography, Optical Spectroscopy, and Mass Spectrometry. These labs could be utilized by researchers from all the departments in the College of Engineering and Science.
Rhodes Hall, home to Clemson’s internationally-known bioengineering program will be expanded to include an additional 24,000 square feet of research and teaching labs, offices, and smart classrooms.
Plans on the drawing board call for an addition to Hunter Hall, which will house high-end instrumentation facilities.
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