Kent State is moving ahead with improvement projects, despite failure to secure state funds for a campus-wide renovation.

Right now, the plans are to add more furniture to the entrance of the library, more tables with umbrellas in Risman Plaza, replace the leaking roof on the M.A.C. Center and make small-scale improvements to Bowman and Satterfield Halls.

President Lester Lefton said the money for these projects comes from campus enhancement resources that he has access to on an annual basis for repairs and improvements. People in the campus facilities and Kent State’s architects regularly meet with him to discuss what projects “have to be done, need to be done and should be done,” Lefton said.

“It was really about getting the biggest impact for any dollar expenditure,” Lefton said.

Tim Moerland, dean of the College of Arts and Science, said he hopes to see more structural renovations to Bowman and Satterfield Halls soon. He said the buildings are used by thousands of students each day, and they need new windows and a new heating and cooling system.

“It’s very rare that a student will spend their undergraduate career at Kent State and not have several classes in one or both of those buildings,” Moerland said. “They are high traffic areas, and both buildings are at, or past, the end of their service life, and they need help.”

But Lefton said those larger renovations will have to wait until the bond is approved by the Board of Trustees. The bond (i.e. loan) for campus renovations was not successful in getting through the state approval process last semester, and Gregg Floyd, vice president of Finance and Administration, said it will probably be tabled until after Gov. Kasich unveils his budget on March 15.

“Given the change in leadership, it would be smart to coordinate that with the current leadership,” Floyd said.

The upcoming changes to Bowman and Satterfield Halls will be smaller, including new chairs, tables and couches for the common areas in the buildings, Lefton said. He’d also like to see some computer kiosks and power strips added to help students study.

Lefton agrees the area has high traffic and hopes the projects will be completed before the end of the semester. He said he should have a final proposal for the projects approved within the next few weeks.

“This is a highly used area where thousands of students go through there everyday and use that space. So it’s a good expenditure of funds,” Lefton said. “Quite honestly, as the semester rolls on, more and more students use it because more and more students study.”

Contact Anna Staver at [email protected].

TV2 asks students’ reactions to the planned renovations.

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