Temporary inconvenience, long-term improvement: Work continues on science hall

The third phase of Waynesburg University’s largest renovation project in recent years is on track to be completed by spring 2015.
Students and staff will likely encounter noise disturbances as construction on the fifth floor of the Stewart Science Hall continues this fall, but school officials say it will be worth it in the end.
“A lot of it is going to be modernized to reflect best practices in laboratory education,” said Evonne Baldauff, associate professor of chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science.
“It’s going to look fundamentally different in every aspect than it looks at present — we’ll have beautiful new labs.”
The third phase of the $23 million renovation project is the largest and most extensive of all the phases, said Terry Sattler, director of facilities, planning and management for Waynesburg University.
This summer, construction crews demolished the entire fifth floor of the Stewart Science Hall, which houses the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science.
Upon their return to school on Aug. 24, students will see that renovations to the floor will continue throughout the fall, while floors one through four, which are yet to be renovated, will continue to house classes.
According to Sattler, this means chemistry students will be sharing some space with biology classes on the third floor, and that temporary classroom spaces have been developed in other buildings on campus.
“It really should be just one year of slight inconvenience. It’s not a major obstacle,” Baldauff said. “We’ve been planning for this. Everything needed to be done in advance to provide students the best educational experience in spite of the renovation project.”
Work to the exterior of the building will also continue in the fall, but should be finished up in October, Sattler said.
The new window walls will be one of the most noticeable changes about the building for students and Waynesburg University staff, in addition to the new air conditioning system.
“It’s going to look like a brand new building by the time we’re done,” he said. While the end of phase three is in sight, there are still three more phases in the pipeline before the project will be completely finished.
Phase four will begin in 2015 and will entail renovations to the fourth floor.
Phase five will begin in 2016, bringing renovations to the third floor; and construction crews will tackle floors one and two in the sixth phase, which is slated to begin in 2017.
“We’re going to end up with a very first-class, high-educational science building when we’re done,” Sattler said.