On June 28, Governor Mike DeWine signed the state budget into law, granting the university $30.3 million to upgrade the campus infrastructure and address deferred maintenance.
Doug Pearson, the associate vice president for facilities planning and operations, said the critical deferred maintenance the university has planned is targeting areas on campus most in need of repairs.
“Deferred maintenance is building components that are in need of replacement,” he said. “Like an old roof that leaks needs to be replaced, or an air conditioning unit that is broken or needs to be replaced, that money would help us replace those units.”
According to the capital budget, the university received $3.6 million in capital appropriations for deferred maintenance throughout the campus.
White Hall is set to begin a multi-year heating and renovation upgrade which will be included in the next two budget plans, as Pearson said it will be a large project.
“That project will also include improvements to the building corridors … new corridor ceiling, lights and paint,” he said.
The renovations have been in the planning stages for four years; last year the university received money from the budget to renovate the basement and first floor AC, Pearson said.
“We also installed some new major equipment in that building for the first phase of a much larger project,” he said.
With the $10 million in capital appropriations for White Hall, Pearson said the White Hall renovation project will take six more years to complete.
The University Library Towers will also be under renovation including the modernization of the elevators, which is expected to be completed in two years, Pearson said.
“That renovates or upgrades the three elevators in the library that are old and in need of an upgrade,” he said.
Another reason the elevators are undergoing modernization is because of the frequency they require maintenance, Pearson said.
“Frequently there are one or more cars down that are getting fixed,” he said. “So, that impacts staff and students’ ability to move throughout the building.”
The upgrade also includes repairing a closed-off stairwell, which goes to the top of the building, as its railing is not code compliant, Pearson said.
For these upgrades, the university received $6 million in capital appropriations, according to the budget.
Pearson said other elevators on campus, especially those found in Bowman Hall, will receive a modernization for accessibility.
“There are 125 elevators on the Kent State campus,” he said. “Some of those elevators are very old and they need to be upgraded to meet current handicap accessibility requirements and improve reliability.”
From the budget plan, the university received $4 million in capital appropriations to modernize the elevators across campus.
With the money from the budget, Pearson said he believes the university will be able to modernize three elevators, and are still in the process of determining which elevators will be upgraded.
He said he estimated the elevators to be under construction during the summer of 2026 as the university will first need to work on the design plans.
The $3.6 million in capital appropriations will be used to enhance the Internet Technology Network throughout campus, Pearson said.
The university’s Blossom Music Center and Porthouse Theater will also experience a few improvements as the theater is expected to have its roof replaced, Pearson said.
The university received $147,300 in capital appropriations to replace the roof of the theater and $1.05 million to improve the Blossom Music Center.
Pearson said the money provided from the budget will help the university continue to maintain its buildings in good operating condition.
Adriana Gasiewski is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
