Space for students more readily available at center of campus

By Erik Carlson
Staff Writer

As workers clear away the final bricks from the former Athens Lumber Company site, plans are in the works to move the Ohio University human resources office from the McKee House to the West Union lot.

Moving the human resources office will make it easier for employees and prospective OU employees to access the building and allow offices that students visit more frequently to be moved into the McKee House, 44 University Terrace.

This is a part of a long-time university goal to free up space in the core of campus for academic purposes, said John Kotowski, Ohio University director of facilities planing.

"Freeing up space around the core part of campus for academic functions is something we have been doing for a number of years," he said.

Kotowski cited his office as an example, which was located at 35 Park Place but now is in Building 19 at The Ridges. OU officials do not have specific plans - including cost - for the new human resources building yet, Kotowski said.

But construction should begin this spring and will take about a year.

The Life Sciences Research Center on West Green is another OU work in progress. Located behind Boyd Hall, the building should be completed sometime in early January.

OU officials also finalized the purchase of The Athena, 20 S. Court St., and plan to start renovations during the summer to the interior and exterior of the theater, Kotowski said.

On Nov. 7, OU acquired land leading to the WOUB TV and radio tower for easier access. The land, in the Fairway Oaks Subdivision, cost $26,000, said John Burns, OU director of legal affairs.

"That land could have conceivably had a house built on it," Kotowski said. "We wanted to control our own destiny."

The university also is in the early stages of planning to build a possible new student center. If the new center is built, Kotowski said the only location being considered is on the end of Court Street, on the hillside across from Scripps Hall.

OU also purchased property in Ironton on Dec. 15 to extend the southern campus. Eric Cunningham, interim dean of OU's southern campus, said the property was once a church and now being used for music classes.

The building will be remodeled into a childcare center in the next few months. Early childhood majors will staff the center, Cunningham said. Both faculty members and students will be able use this facility for their children.

"There has been a great need for the child care center," he said.