Author: Lucy Feickert
The continued existence and utilization of temporary trailers on campus, despite the completion of construction on Swan Hall, Johnson Hall and the Johnson Student Center indicates potential future projects, according to Vice President for Finance and Planning Amos Himmelstein. Renovation plans may include the Academic Commons and the Career Development Center in the Arthur G. Coons Administrative Building, said Himmelstein, but construction will not likely begin for at least a year.
According to Himmelstein, the trailers, located north and south of campus next to Booth Hall and Bell-Young Hall, respectively arrived on campus three years ago to accommodate the offices displaced by the Swan Hall construction. The north trailers are currently empty, while the south trailers serve as offices for various college departments and organizations.
While there is no current construction on campus, Himmelstein said the trailers will stay so they can be used again when needed in case of construction in the future.
“There’s a cost to removing them and a cost to getting them back,” Himmelstein said. “It makes sense to keep them a little longer to see where we are with the projects.”
Until projects are completed, there are still offices located in the south trailers, including spaces for Neighborhood Partnership Program, the general advising center, pre-health advising, National Awards, portions of Project S.A.F.E. and some of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute.
Assistant Director of National Awards Sue Pramov originally worked in in Johnson Hall but, due to the construction, was moved to the south trailers.
“What we’ve been told is that we will eventually move into the Career Development Center,” Pramov said. “I think they’re looking to remodel that, but I don’t have any idea of the timing.”
Initially, when other offices moved back into Johnson Hall, Pramov said that the location of National Awards caused some confusion among students.
“I think, ideally, it would be better to be in a place where we’re centrally located, where there is lot of student traffic so that not only could they drop in, but also they [could] see National Awards,” Pramov said. “We’re trying to make sure that students and alumni know what National Awards does. Being out here, they don’t get to see us.”
Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate Naddia Palacios also works in the south trailers. Her personal office is more central than Project S.A.F.E.’s main office, located in Stewart-Cleland Hall, and she finds that students stop by more often.
“I have seen a lot more students come and reach out to our services,” Palacios said via email.
Both Pramov and Palacios also noted the increased privacy students have in visiting their offices as a result of the location, which is more removed from the foot traffic of central campus or a residence hall.
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