New Videoboard Coming to Sanders Stadium

GoBearkats.com announces the addition of a new video/score board at Don Sanders Stadium (which they note is the university's "modern baseball facility"):

Bud Haney and Don Sanders, both Bearkat alums, have teamed to donate $240,000 towards the $300,000 cost of the video board. Installation of the top-of-the-line board by Daktronics is set to begin this summer to be ready for the 2014 Bearkat baseball season.

Dimensions for the new board will be 31 feet, 10.4 inches tall by 36 feet wide. The board will feature a 20mm video display with 198 lines of resolution by 360 columns of resolution.

The board also will feature four sponsor advertising opportunities to provide additional revenue for the Bearkat athletic program.

Satellite Image of Dorm Fast-Tracks Its Demolition

White Hall, the 140-bed dormitory on the south side of the SHSU campus, is being fast-tracked for demolition, reports Today@Sam, due to a suggestive satellite appearance:

Residence Life staff were surprised to discover that the layout of the dorm, when viewed from above on mapping sites such as Google and MapQuest, appeared similar to an improper hand gesture. It was brought to the attention of the administration in late March.

"The fifty-year-old dorm was already marked as a possible demolition candidate on the most recent master plan," [SHSU Physical Plant representative Lens] Vicieae said, citing its location at the corner of Avenue I and Bowers Boulevard. "This discovery seems to help us in our decision of when it needs to be taken down. When it was constructed [the university] didn't take into account such things as satellite images. Now with mapping tools and FourSquare, [White Hall] is more visible than it was before."

Vicieae added that property the university recently purchased across from White Hall was tentatively planned as a site for new housing and, should that plan follow through, they will attempt a more aesthetically pleasing structure.

February 2013 Regents Report

Today@Sam reports on the updated Master Plan approved by the Texas State University System Board of Regents during their recent meeting:

The regents approved a 2013-2020 master plan update and authorized SHSU to file the update with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The most recent SHSU campus master plan for the period of 2009-2020 was approved in 2008. However, new enrollment and academic trends began emerging after the implementation and as a result, the university’s space utilization analysis did not show the improvement expected, SHSU President Dana Gibson told the regents.

“The campus infrastructure needed a comprehensive review focusing on the renewal of existing systems and expansion to serve new facilities,” she said. “A conscious effort has been made to update the master plan and build on the efforts of the 2008 plan as a planning tool to give the university the flexibility to address changing demographics and teaching approaches,” she said.

Among the proposed construction projects, some of which were previously identified, are south district residence facilities, a south dining facility, new academic buildings for nursing and biology, and an agricultural and engineering technology building.

Austin Hall Named To National Register Of Historic Places

Today@Sam writes that's the university's oldest building is on tap to receive another honor:

Austin Hall, the oldest building, and most notable landmark, on the campus of Sam Houston State University, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a federal program to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.

“The application process required extensive research and documentation about the architectural distinction and historical significance of the building,” said Mac Woodward, director of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum.  The application was first submitted to the Texas Historical Commission for review.  The university received official word that the building had been approved for the listing on Jan. 30.

Read the full file on the Austin Hall from nps.gov.

SHSU Discusses Location for Food Pantry

An interesting piece from Tuesday's (Jan. 22) Houstonian about finding a location for the on-campus food pantry:

The pantry is adopting a student organization model, which will allow students to be in charge of its actions and provisions.

Vice President for Student Services Frank Parker said the program has received support from both students and school faculty. Parker expressed support for the program in late December, while the faculty senate has backed the pantry since its inception.

“Space on this campus is at a premium,” said Parker. “When we look at spaces, some of the issues that we think about are spaces that retain [a student’s] anonymity, spaces where students come and go and that are available and open on the weekend.”

While the committee talked about specific venues on campus for the pantry, they failed to comment on which facilities were in mind.

“I think it would be disrespectful to the people responsible for those sights to say anything more specific before we talk to them,” said Parker.

The pantry was created for students who are unable to afford balanced meals and provide volunteer and networking opportunities for students.  It received approval as a new student organization in October 2012, and hopes to be available to students by Fall 2013. 

Student Health and Counseling Center Plans Underway

Plans for the new Student Health and Counseling Center are underway according to yesterday's Houstonian:

The team met Jan. 9 to explain to the potential architects and contractors the bidding process. The architects and contractors have to submit documentation talking about previous projects that they have done and how they can contribute to the project.

The construction management team met Wednesday and looked through what people have submitted to see what their qualifications are, according to SHC director Sarah Hanel.

Hanel said on Jan. 25 the university will meet and announce the short list of companies they would like a presentation from and an opportunity to interview. By Feb. 7 the interviews will be complete and the most qualified contracting and architectural company will be selected on Feb. 8.

Jan. 25 they plan to break ground at the old King Hall location. This is across the street from their current location.

"A lot of the Health Centers traffic comes from new Lone Star Hall and a lot of the freshman dorms surrounding us as well as Old Main Market," according to Hanel.

The estimated breaking of ground is in October of this year and the building is hoped to be finished in the summer of 2014.

2013-14 Residence Life Changes

The Department of Residence Life has announced housing changes for the 2013-14 academic year. The biggest change is that beginning in Fall 2013, all first year students in the Bearkat Learning Community will live on the 4th floor of Raven Village. The BLC began in Fall 2001 and moved to Randel and Vick houses in Fall 2002. Those two houses will now be open for all classifications.

Elsewhere, academic areas – which offer 24 hour quiet areas to encourage a study environment - include the ground floor of Belvin Hall, the 3rd of Elliott Hall, or, for honors students, Spivey House.

Finally, scheduled summer repairs include:

• Elliott Hall: interior painting
• Estill and Jackson-Shaver halls: addressable smoke alarms in resident rooms
• Estill Hall: fire sprinkler system
• Shaver, Gibbs, Houston, and Jackson houses: carpet in public areas
• Bearkat Village: cameras in clubhouse and laundry rooms

SHSU Research Park Idea Retooled

SHSU has hired a director for a planned research park that could bring new jobs — and other forms of economic development — into the city, reports the Huntsville Item.

Terry Stokes started work in November at SHSU, tasked with developing a master plan for a research park that might house criminal justice-related technology programs.

Stokes said he’s in the process of reviewing previous proposals for sites of the planned park, which include a 200-acre plot of land on Ellisor Road and Highway 19 in Walker County, about 8 miles from the main SHSU campus. About 160 acres of the site would have been donated to the university by the D’Agostino family. At full build-out, the complex would have included, according to developer plans, a full-service hotel and other private tenants.

But consideration of this site became controversial last summer when the Huntsville City Council began to consider commitment of $2 million in providing utility infrastructure to the site, which borders the city’s sewage treatment plant, and annexation of the site and land between it and the city limits. The Ellisor Road site has recently been advertised for sale.

Citizens who spoke out against annexation and using tax funds to build utility lines to the site were critical of its suitability, based on its distance from the city, its access from a two-lane highway and its close proximity to a sewage treatment plant

Critics also pointed to other sites along Interstate 45 near existing utility infrastructure and with immediate access to I-45. SHSU officials postponed public discussion of the Ellisor Road site after acknowledging that the city’s draft hotel study had identified superior sites along I-45.

Master planning efforts will yield details Stokes said he doesn’t yet have — such as what sites might be considered, the total anticipated project cost from site acquisition to completion, the types of programs to be housed at the park, and whether new jobs will be created for Walker County’s existing workforce.

Old Main Market Wins Design Award

Today@Sam reports that Old Main Market recently received the 2012 Silver Rose Award from the Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

The architect of the SHSU dining facility (completed in 2011) was Tipton Associates of Baton Rouge. Of the 39 national and international projects entered into the design competition, only three were recognized at this level.

“This is a design award to recognize outstanding architecture given out by the Baton Rouge, La., local chapter of the American Institute of Architects; in that respect it is not unlike other design award programs,” said Denise Neu, director of facilities planning and construction.

“However, it’s a testament to the quality of what SHSU is doing,” she said. “An independent group of architects that aren’t necessarily familiar with our campus have ranked the facility as exceptional. In that respect it gives SHSU exposure to an expanded audience and ultimately sets the bar for other design teams."

Projects are judged on their individual merit and granted at the discretion of an independent jury, which is composed of architects whose work and reputations have been established at the highest level of the profession.

Other buildings to win recent awards include the Gaertner Performing Arts Center and CHSS Building.

CHSS Dedicates Outdoor Classroom, Art Plaza

The Houstonian reports the opening of the new College of Humanities and Social Sciences Art Plaza and Outdoor Classroom that occurred on Friday, November 9:

As a lover of both the arts and environment, [Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences John] de Castro was persistent in finding a way to provide faculty and students with an area that would showcase different art forms in a beautiful environment. He not only envisioned a space used for the arts, but for the classrooms as well.

“The idea came from an understanding that we have a beautiful environment here and faculty love to come outside and share this environment with their students and have outdoor sessions, but we didn’t have an appropriate space,” de Castro said. “When I looked at the space here I thought it was perfect.”

Jesus Moroles is the artist and designer of the Arts Plaza. Moroles works as a granite sculptor. In 2008 he was the youngest person to receive the National Medal of Arts from former President George W. Bush. Moroles has more than 2,000 works in foreign countries such as Switzerland, China, Egypt, France, Italy, and Japan. Moroles created a space that would be able to hold seating for an event. Along with a 9 foot water wall, the space provides excellent acoustics.

The Arts Plaza and Outdoor Classroom is located behind the CHSS Building, adjacent to Johnson Coliseum. Wi-Fi will be provided outside for students.