Health Center and LSC Renovations Approved

The October 18 edition of the Houstonian reports that students voted to increase student fees to build a new Student Health Center and expand the Lowman Student Center.

The approval of the health center came through a landslide 74.6 percent in favor with 21.93 percent against and 1.72 percent not participating. Students also approved the LSC expansion with 63.48 percent approval.

Construction on the 28,000 square-foot Health Center is anticipated to begin in the early summer of 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by fall 2014.

Ceremony to Honor Austin Hall

A refurbished Austin Hall will be presented to the campus and community in a special ceremony on Saturday, October 20. The Houstonian reports the re-dedication will feature words from several academic and city officials including President Dana Gibson; Mayor of Huntsville Mac Woodward, Brian McCall, Ph.D., chancellor of the Texas State University System; and Light Cummins, Ph.D., professor of history at Austin College in Sherman, TX.

The $2 million project was needed to repair years of deterioration and interior problems to preserve the 160-year-old structure. Built in 1851, Austin Hall opened for classes at Austin College in 1852. It has lived through the Civil War, Reconstruction, several hurricanes, and even a devastating fire in 1982 that destroyed Old Main. Today it is used for campus special events and receptions.

The event will begin at 3:30 with speakers beginning at 4 p.m. The ceremony is free and is open to all.

Lowman Student Center Expansion Project

Today@Sam reports that during Homecoming 2012 students will have the opportunity to vote for two referendum items, including fee increases that would benefit students through the Lowman Student Center (LSC) Expansion.  To fund the new construction, requests have been made to increase the Student Center Fee to its legislative cap, from $60 to $100.  Voting takes place Tuesday, Oct. 16 and Wednesday, Oct. 17.

The Lowman Student Center Expansion Project calls for two phases: phase one would build on the former Smith-Kirkley site, and phase two would include renovations to the existing facility.

Plans for phase one would open the LSC to bring in more natural light and create a more inviting place. The bottom level of the expansion will be all food services, as a replacement for the existing food court, that would provide more indoor seating and tie into outdoor seating that will be between the building and Avenue J. The second level ties into the current LSC where the atrium is located and would merge the existing building to the new expansion, as well as connect to the third level of the parking garage. This level would add more meeting rooms and create a pre-event space for events held in the LSC Ballroom or in the large conference rooms.

The top floor of the expansion will include a grand ballroom, an 11,000-square foot floor that could seat 650 guests at round tables or more than 1,000 in a chairs-only setting.  Renovations would also entail converting the current food court into an entertainment level: "The vision is to transition our current Kat Klub to a six-to-eight lane bowling alley with a pub."  The LSC staff are working with the SHSU bowling coach to create a partnership, as the lanes would benefit both the team and the students.

The current LSC was completed in 1963 and was renovated in 1981 and 2000.

You can discuss the Lowman Student Center Expansion Project at KatFans.

Student Health and Counseling Center Project

Today@Sam reports that during Homecoming 2012 students will have the opportunity to vote for two referendum items, including fee increases that would benefit students through the Student Health and Counseling Construction Project.  To fund the new construction, requests have been made to increase the Medical Service Fee, paid by students as part of their semester tuition, from $38 to $75.  Voting takes place Tuesday, Oct. 16 and Wednesday, Oct. 17.

The Student Health and Counseling Center Expansion Project would provide an approximately 28,000-square feet, two-story building that would house a combined Student Health Center and Counseling Center in the empty lot previously occupied by King Hall.

Built in 1965, the current Student Health Center currently serves a student population that is 222 percent larger than the 5,743 enrolled students that made up SHSU’s student body at that time; despite this large growth, the facility has had no additions or structural changes. The current Counseling Center is located between the Drain and Farrington Buildings.