UMass Amherst Students to Benefit from $30 Million in Facility Improvements Made During the Summer
Sept. 3, 2010
| Contact: | Patrick Callahan 413/545-0444 |
AMHERST, Mass. - Students returning to the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall will find physical and electronic improvements that include installation of wireless Internet access in many residence halls, renovated academic space and a fresh look for some athletic facilities.
Overall, the campus has invested about $30 million on improvement projects between May and the end of August, said Shane Conklin, deputy director of facilities and campus planning.
One big change is that more than half of the 45 residence halls are now wireless only. During the summer, the Office of Information Technologies (OIT) completed the first phase in a two-year, $1.5 million project to decommission wired Ethernet and install state-of-the-art wireless in the residence halls. The changeover has been made in the Northeast, Sylvan, Orchard Hill and Central residential areas. The Southwest and North residential areas will go wireless only next summer, in time for the beginning of the fall 2011 semester.
The wireless installation in these buildings is expected to provide students with an Internet connection that is more convenient, yet still reliable and secure. It will also reduce the campus’ carbon footprint. "We had to choose between replacing our aging wired Ethernet and installing wireless," said John Dubach, chief information officer. "We expect that wireless connection speeds will match or exceed current wired speeds."
Students in the College of Natural Sciences will find a new academic advising center open in room 220 Morrill Science Center II. Martha Baker, associate dean for student affairs, said the new center offers general advising for up to 6,000 students. Staff members also meet with new students, visitors and all first-year students in the college. There is also a new lounge adjacent to the advising center for biology and geosciences students as well as a new cafe. A new, 92-seat classroom will be open in room 222.
Meanwhile, nine classrooms, four in French Hall and five Morrill Science Center, were renovated at a cost of $350,000. Gorman residence hall in the Central Residential Area has undergone interior modifications to upgrade its look and feel. The interior facelift includes new ceilings, carpet, floor tile, paint, built-in and moveable furniture, lighting and other applied features. The work cost $450,000.
Sports fans will see large graphic banners at McGuirk Alumni Stadium featuring UMass football stars through the years, and individual and team photos on the fencing at Garber Field will celebrate individual stars and championship teams from the men’s lacrosse and field hockey teams through the years.
Drivers on campus will find a new traffic roundabout at the intersection of North Pleasant Street, Eastman Lane and Governor’s Drive. The busy intersection was modified as part of a $9.5 million utilities project in the area. Campus planning officials say that extensive traffic studies indicate that a roundabout design will not only result in greater safety for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists, but will also be more efficient than a conventional turning-lane intersection in terms of traffic flow and reduced wait times. By slowing vehicle speeds and reducing idling and stop-start cycles, the roundabout design has the added environmental benefit of reducing vehicle emissions and noise.
Other projects include replacing the six elevators in the W.E.B. Du Bois Library, and six elevators in the Lederle Graduate Research Center. This work cost $6.5 million. A new elevator was also installed at New Africa House for $3 million.
The former University Apartments were demolished at the campus’ southeast gateway at the corner of North Pleasant Street and Butterfield Terrace. The $1.5 million project has created a new parking lot with 90 spaces and includes upgrades of old steam lines.
Safety-related projects include sprinkler systems installed in the Hamlin, Wheeler, Johnson, Lewis and Thatcher residence halls at a cost of $5.9 million and a complete upgrade of electrical equipment at the Campus Center.
Throughout campus, there are also several ongoing construction projects, including work on the UMass Marching Band Building near Dickinson Hall, the new police station off Eastman Lane and East Pleasant Street, the laboratory science building near the Integrated Sciences Building, sustainable landscaping of the Southwest Residential Area concourse, and renovating the existing greenhouse and constructing more than 15,700 square feet of additional laboratory and greenhouse space at Bowditch Hall near the Textbook Annex.
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