“Construction on a new $9 million building for the College of Education is set to begin as early as this summer or late fall. Of the four departments within the college, only students and faculty in the Education Foundations and Leadership and Curricular and Instructional Studies departments will move to the new facility.”
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Construction on a new $9 million building for the College of Education is set to begin as early as this summer or late fall.

Of the four departments within the college, only students and faculty in the Education Foundations and Leadership and Curricular and Instructional Studies departments will move to the new facility.

The other two departments, Sports Science and Wellness and the Department of Counseling, have been gradually moving out of their current buildings and into their new home.

During the first step of transition to prepare for the new building, Sports Science and Wellness moved from Memorial Hall to Infocision stadium, where there are lab facilities for the students to work in.

Dr. Mark Shermis, Dean of the College of Education, said that the Department of Counseling mainly operates out of the C.P. and Cornelia Chima Family Center that sits on the edge of campus. Since the clinic is currently at a location that allows for easy access for community members, there was no need to move it to the new building.

Discussions on the construction of a new education building have been ongoing for a number of years. Zook Hall, where the two departments that will be moving currently reside, is outdated and only getting worse.

It was built in the mid-’60s, so it’s a very old building. It was modeled after public schools, and schools have changed radically since then, Shermis said. It has run its course. We used to joke that it was DNR-do not resuscitate.

Temperamental elevators, narrow doorways and no accommodations for people with disabilities are only a few of the issues. It was determined to be more cost effective to build an entirely new building, rather then try to fix the various problems of Zook Hall.

The new building will be constructed where Memorial Hall is currently located. Memorial Hall is expected to be knocked down in June or early summer.

Ted Curtis, the VP in charge of building, said the new building will consist of a dramatic entry lobby that resembles the glass wedge entrance at the Student Union.

For an idea of what the new layout will look like, stand on the east end of campus. Buchtel Hall can be seen in the middle, with the Student Union and the new education building (currently Memorial Hall) on either side. The two outside buildings will complement each other, and work as bookends of sorts.

The new education building will consist of learning environments that reflect the learning of 21st century skills, Dean Shermis said.

It will be wireless, and will include lecture halls, computer labs, classrooms, and other student facilities.

It will have the latest technology for classrooms, Dr. Sajit Zachariah, Associate Dean of the College of Education, said. Technology is high on our list of goals. We are trying to train teachers on how to use technology, so it makes sense classrooms use state-of-the-art technology.

In addition to having advanced technologies in the new building, it will also be environmentally friendly.

Dean Shermis said they have been in contact with environmental grant foundations to help offset the costs of the new building.

The architect of the new building has not yet been decided, although a recommendation has been made to the Board of Trustees.

Once it’s decided who will design it, the architect will be in contact with faculty members to discuss programming what the learning environments should look like, Dean Shermis said.

The architect will be announced March 24 at the Board of Trustees meeting.

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