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Friday, August 25, 2006

State of the University Address

News from University President James Gaertner at the annual State of University address focused on future construction projects and a possible university name change:
"There is a chance in this next legislative session that there will be an effort to reconfigure the university systems in the state," Gaertner said. "If a reorganization takes place, the issue of the names of the schools in those systems would be in question, and there is a possibility that we would be called upon to change our name to, probably, Texas State University-Sam Houston."

Among the construction projects the university will be facing in the near future is a new Mall Area that will require the removal of the Wilson and Frels buildings, scheduled to begin sometime around December; a 143,000 square feet Academic Building V that will house the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as some business offices, in the parking lot behind the Smith-Hutson Building and is expected to begin in March; surface parking; and a Performing Arts Center that will be in the parking lot south of the Criminal Justice Center.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Two Parking Lots Short

Construction projects – some confirmed and others in the planning stages – will eliminate a number of prominent parking spaces over the next school year, as explained in this Houstonian article (Aug. 24):
The faculty parking lot in between the Frels-Wilson complex will be removed along with the buildings to allow for the expansion of the new student mall area. According to [Director of Public Relations, Frank] Krystyniak, this parking lot will be the first to be replaced and will be unavailable by the end of November.

The lot north of the Vick House is to be replaced by Academic Building V...the schedule for construction has not been started yet, but Krystyniak said the lot will not be available for use in late spring.

Another parking lot may be lost due to a new Performing Arts Center... if the building is approved, Krystyniak said that construction would probably start in the fall of 2007 and a parking lot will be lost to the project.

Even though the university may lose the lots this year, Physical Plant Director John McCrosky said that more parking lot locations are discussed when buildings replace them. "We try to plan for things," said McCrosky, "We always try to come up with space for additional parking lots."

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Thumbs Up, Down On Campus Construction

Christi Laney takes a look at some of the campus construction projects in the August 22 edition of the Houstonian.

Monday, August 21, 2006

Item: Bearkat Mania kicks off Monday at SHSU

The August 21 Item gets a little confused between “Nest” and “Village.” Of course, there’s no point in getting "raven" mad about their typo – deal with it:
Raven Nest, apartment-style living on campus, opened up for upper-class students this year. Joellen Tipton, Director of Residence Life, said Raven Nest has been a big hit with students and said she has heard nothing but good things from the residents and staff.

Friday, August 18, 2006

GMH building luxury student housing in Texas

GMH Communities Trust said its College Park Communities division has completed the purchase of a site close to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, where the company plans to build a 318-unit luxury student housing community.

GMH said it paid $1.8 million for 26 acres. The development will include 23 buildings.

The company (NYSE:GCT) expects to finish the first, 228-unit phase by fall 2007. The luxuries will include a fitness center, a movie theater and tanning beds. GMH of Newtown Square, Pa., is real estate investment trust that concentrates on student and military housing.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

The "Weight" is Over....

Staff began moving into the new strength and conditioning building today, located between Bowers Stadium and the Baseball Complex.

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Change of Address

The campus post office is moving to a temporary location beginning today, August 1, located in front of Art Building A. Once moved, students will be able to pick up mail between 8:45 am and 4:00 pm, Monday thru Friday.