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2024 is shaping up to be a year of renovation for Shippensburg University. While the campus looks forward to continued renovations to residence halls and a possible redesign of Criner Hall, the biggest project scheduled to begin this summer is the multi-year renovation of the Franklin Science Center. It is.
The Franklin Science Center (FSC) was built in 1970 and underwent a partial renovation in 2002 with HVAC and electrical upgrades. At that time, minimal upgrades were made to the building’s interior. Talks about a more thorough renovation of the FSC had already begun in 2010, but delays and budget issues meant that a final design contract was not completed until his 2022.
Although groundbreaking is not scheduled until August or September, the first transition of FSC faculty took place within the last week. Psychology professors are moving their offices to Wright Hall one by one, with plans to move permanently this summer to minimize inconvenience to students. Psychology student lounges, laboratories, graduate assistant spaces, and departmental offices will remain untouched until the end of the semester.
Suzanne Morin, chair of the psychology department, said five faculty members have been transferred so far, and five more are expected to transfer this week.
Throughout discussions about how the renovations would impact the psychology department, Morin prioritized finding another location on campus where faculty could spend time together.
“Having all faculty remain in the same location will make it easier for students to continue to communicate with us,” Morin said. “Not only that, but they have also provided space in Light Hall where we can continue our research, so our research activities with our students will not be affected.”
Wright Hall is primarily used by adjunct faculty and is not home to any particular department, so psychology is not “displacing” its colleagues, Morin said.
To prepare for the new Wright residents, campus partners have been working to repair and replace old furniture, paint walls, and design a study space on the second floor of Wright Hall for use by psychology students. Morin also plans to update both the physical and online directories and install signage, including a large welcome banner, to make Psychology’s presence known throughout the building.
When initial renovation negotiations were taking place, the decision was made to relocate the Department of Psychology because psychology courses are not as lab-bound as other departments.
“It’s convenient to have teaching space and research space together, but we volunteered because it’s one of the easiest spaces to navigate,” Morin said. “I think we have the home court advantage of being able to come out of the chaos and do what we need to do with our students and continue to build community with our new students coming in.”
In the Summer 2023 issue of SU Magazine, an article on FSC renovations estimated a timeline of approximately August 2024 to January 2027. If all goes well, this is still an estimated timeline, but as Morin said, psychiatry is happy to: It should be installed in a separate building in case problems arise or the project takes longer than expected.
The first phase will involve renovations to the south side of the building and is expected to take about 14 months, said Bruce Herring, SU’s assistant director of planning and engineering. Phase 2 will then run from approximately January 2026 until spring 2027.
For now, other parts of the FSC are maintaining the status quo and their operations will be affected later this year. Only half of the building will be renovated at a time, with the remaining space shared between the biology and chemistry departments.
“Although most of the lecture courses will be held in other buildings, the labs will continue at FSC,” said Shelly Bergsten, dean of the Department of Biology. “With support from the administration, we have been working together to find the best way to share space at FSC so that we can continue to offer all laboratory courses and allow faculty and students to continue their research during the renovation. I did.”
Psych’s home base will remain in Wright Hall, but some courses will also be held in Shippen Hall, the Dauphin Humanities Center-Huber Arts Center, and other available spaces on campus. intend to do something.
Once the renovations are complete, Morin is excited to see a modern space that is more inclusive and will allow science to better interact with the community and participate in research.
“I would really like to see improvements to the building, especially the lab space, along with the accessibility of the building,” said Amanda Holmes, a junior psychology major. She said: “It would be great just to have an accessible entrance near the elevators. I would like to see better seating in the auditorium to accommodate larger body types.”
Plans for upgrades to the FSC include “modernization of the laboratory and teaching laboratory portions of the building, modernization of classrooms and computer labs, and modernization of staff rooms.”
“By incorporating collaboration spaces into some of the corridors throughout the building,
It will encourage student interaction and reduce congestion in the hallways,” Herring said.
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