Recently, as the Ag. Campus has seen an increase in student enrollments over the past decade or so, there have been a couple of demolitions as Facilities Services prepare for future students.
There are two projects occurring on the Ag. Campus at this time. The Ellington Plant Sciences building is going to be replaced with the Energy and Environmental Science Research Building (EESRB). This building will be around 157,000 square feet over five stories and will house some research and public labs, some new classrooms as well as some offices.
There will also be a few large common areas for students, faculty and the public to come together, safely, to discuss ideas or to meet up. The purpose of this construction is to provide an increase in the size of the building so that they can accurately accommodate for the faculty and students that are currently scattered across campus.
Associate Dean of the Herbert College of Agriculture, John Stier, said that this expansion and modernization is needed since agriculture is a bigger business now due to the shift from labor to a more high-tech business model.
“Agriculture is a big business and is continuing to experience a boom in importance to the state and nation,” Stier said.
The other project is a new parking area for the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Teaching and Learning Center addition. This addition is necessary for instruction as well as an informal meeting place for the college.
Communications Coordinator Sam Ledford said that the Ag. Campus deserves expansion, as well as to be modernized.
“UTIA is certainly deserving of modernization and expansion … these projects will allow us to better serve future students with access to top-notch facilities for hands-on learning in state-of-the-art environments,” Ledford said.
There are a few other ongoing projects occurring on campus. Some of these include the West Dining Hall which will have an eight platform Fresh Food Company as well as a full-service Chick-Fil-A inside, the Zeanah Engineering Complex and the Johnson Ward Pedestrian Mall extension.
As far as completion goes, the Veterinary College’s construction is expected to be completed in January 2021, planting on Ped Walkway is expected to be finished this upcoming January and the Engineering Facility is expected to be completed by fall 2021.
The Facilities Services at UT is the largest department that is not academic-related. They handle any basic operations around campus as well as continuous maintenance. Some parts of their operations run 24/7 and they are also on call at all times to provide support and service to the campus.
“Our goal is to work together to enhance and maintain campus environments that are highly conducive to learning and research,” Ledford said.
“We believe in the students of this university, and as such, students and faculty are always our top priorities.”
Ledford also went on to say that Facilities Services consider it a privilege to serve UT and its campus with their numerous tasks and projects.
For more information regarding some of their projects on campus, their projected completion dates as well as other information regarding the Facilities Services and their role on campus, check out their website.
