(Along with Jesse West)
Imagine yourself walking into one of the science labs in Agenstein Hall. It looks like something from That ’70s Show. It’s cluttered, it’s old and many science students and faculty agree that it’s inadequate for their modern needs. Long-awaited renovations and additions should bring the space and technology needed for today’s students.
Renderings of the addition to Agenstein hall will be presented to the Board of Governor’s at the meeting Feb. 28. Starting next summer, Missouri Western plans to tackle the biggest capital project in its history: a complete renovation of Agenstein Hall and construction of an addition to the building called Remington Hall, after Wes and Patsy Remington, who generously contributed $5 million to the university in October 2007.
The university hopes to break ground by late May or early June of 2008 and finish construction of Remington Hall quickly. If the renderings are approved in February, it will take an approximate two to three months to design the construction documents and another three weeks to assess bids. Following an accepted bid, construction will begin.
“If we have a good contractor, we might be able to complete the building by early August,” Gerald Zweerink, professor of chemistry and the faculty shepherd of the renovations project, said.
The idea to renovate Missouri Western has been an ongoing project, according to Martin Johnson, the dean of liberal arts and sciences.
“There have been discussions about the need for the renovation and expansion of Agenstein Hall for 15 years,” Johnson said. “The discussion became more directed when it became clear that the governor was interested in expanding the capacity for bioscience and biotechnology in Missouri. We saw that the renovation expansion of Agenstein Hall would be one way to contribute to that effort and a project that we felt might be positively received among those who would be recommending funding for the buildings.”
In 2001, Missouri Western received a $250,000 grant from Project Kaleidoscope, with the aid of Senator Kit Bond, for the purpose of planning the renovation of Agenstein Hall and the construction of Remington Hall. The Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative, signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt, allocated $30 million from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority for Missouri Western, which is one of several schools in the area being given funds by MOHELA, including Northwest Missouri State University. However, the university would hit a few road bumps along the way.
The original building plan was $33 million, but according to Benjamin Caldwell, associate professor and chair of the chemistry department, by the time they received the state allocation, prices of steel, labor and other intangibles boosted the overall cost to $38 million, which was above the state allocation.
“That made us re-evaluate the plans we came up with five years ago,” Caldwell said. “We went through a re-design phase with the architects and consultants to come up with something that fits our budget much more feasibly.”
The new renderings are now 52 thousand square feet, 17 thousand less than the original plans.
Todd Eckdahl, professor and chair of the biology department, feels that the renovations will provide both students and faculty with better and more spaces to do what they already do well.
“What we do well is we teach undergraduate students in the classroom in lectures and laboratories,” Eckdahl said. “We engage students in research outside of the classroom.”
Eckdahl believes the current building has space for some research but more space would allow more extensive research projects.
“We’re stuffed to the gills in all of these departments with regard to our ability to do that,” Eckdahl said.
Currently, the plan calls for a two-fold process, Zweerink explained.
“What will happen is we’ll have an addition to the building,” Zweerink said. “In general, we will move out the laboratories from this building into the new building, convert the laboratories in this building into classrooms or research areas and then once the labs are moved into the new building, then we’ll come back in and convert all of [the original building] to either classroom or research area.”
According to Zweerink, the new renderings split three floors into 18 modules. The first floor will include two computer labs, two physics labs, a tutoring lab and a classroom. The remaining floors will house six biology labs and six chemistry labs.
“What students will have in two years is a large state-of-the-art science and math facility,” Zweerink said.
Students such as Ben Kacirek, a sophomore majoring in computer science, are excited by the renovations.
“I think the renovations are going to be cool,” Kacirek said. He also hopes that the renovations will include “rooms that are dedicated to be set up for computer science.”
Joseph Bragin, the provost and vice president of academic and student affairs at Missouri Western, feels that the university has a first-rate instructional program, dedicated faculty and outstanding students that need to be appreciated.
“Students who are in the experimental sciences spend a lot of time on campuses, and it’s very important for them to have the kind of environment where they feel comfortable, where they’re able to learn,” Bragin said. “When you get faculty that have a great place to teach in and to work in, their attitude is going to be much more intense and much more cheerful when they come to work in the morning, and they say, ‘This is great.’ This is some place I really like to be in. I think the morale of everybody here is going to shoot way, way up. And what we’re hoping is that because we’ve doubled the capacity, that our programs will grow.”