UPD Sub-station Opens In The LSC

SHSU's Police Department’s new sub-station is now open on the first floor (Room 104) of the Lowman Student Center, reports the Houstonian:

Limited Funds For New Buildings

The Houstonian (Nov. 12) discusses funding challenges as the university looks to expand:

Time Capsule: SHSTC President Harmon Lowman Dies

Fifty years ago today – Sunday, January 26, 1964 – marked a black day in the history of Sam Houston State Teachers College, notes the 1964 Alcalde. SHSU President Harmon Lowman died of cancer at 8 PM in Houston’s M.D. Anderson Hospital.

Video: New LSC Field, Old Art Complex

Stephen Green has two packages produced for KSHU-TV: one about the temporary field constructed behind the Lowman Student Center (where Smith-Kirkley Hall stood) and another on the conditions of the art complex:

LSC Expansion Land Used As Field Until Further Funding Found

The Houstonian reports that the former site of Smith-Kirkley Hall - land to be used for expanding the Lowman Student Center - will be used a field until funds can be collected:

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.

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.

2012 State of the University Address

Administrative updates and plans for campus expansion were among the topics addressed in SHSU President Dr. Dana Gibson's State of the University Address, held Thursday, September 6. The Houstonian says Gibson spoke to faculty and staff about updates to the university master plan including upcoming legislative items, updates to expand campus facilities and administrative improvements as part of the university master plan:

Gibson also updated faculty and staff on her "legislative priorities" and planned facility developments including a new Event Center, Lowman Student Center expansion, additions to University Camp and a new Student Health Center.

At a SGA-sponsored KatChat town hall event, held prior to the September 6 address, Gibson addresses some of these planned facilities [Houstonian; September 6]:

"The LSC expansion is still in the programming stage," Gibson said. "We have to wait on the student referendum to raise the student center fee before moving forward with this project."

Gibson also updated students on the university master plan that included planned facility expansions such as adding a new Event Center and a university research park.

According to Gibson, the university has taken the first steps toward building an off-campus research park for corrections and law enforcement, an addition that would be unique to Huntsville. "There’s really no other research park for that in the United States, and it’s a multi-billion dollar industry," Gibson said. "We’re trying to attract that industry to do research with our faculty and potentially create business opportunities." Gibson added the administration has created a task force for the research park to consider student, faculty and staff input on the project.

Among the other expansions to university facilities Gibson discussed were adding a new event center near Bowers Stadium that would house a new ballroom, alumni relations and parts of the athletic department. The center would be funded by alumni donations, Gibson said. "The reason why we chose that location for the event center is to take advantage of the parking near the stadium for different events." Gibson said the project is still in the conceptual programming stage.

Campus Expansion Possibilities

Now with Smith-Kirkley Hall out of the way, the Houstonian reports that the campus turns its eyes on how to the use that piece of prime real estate as well as re-think the Student Health Center expansion:

Several possible updates to campus facilities at Sam Houston State University are in the pre-planning stage, according to university officials who met with students last week.

Associate Vice President of Student Services Keith Jenkins told members of the Student Government Association that potential updates to campus include an expansion of the Lowman Student Center, a new Health Center and updates to Pritchett Field and the University Camp.

He added that over the years, students have expressed interest in having carpeting in the LSC Ballroom, a bowling alley and an eating area in the LSC.  The expansion of the LSC will be up for a vote in October. In the meantime, Jenkins said the university is going through what he called a "pre-planning" phase to meet with different departments on campus to get input about the expansion. However, Jenkins had concern about the time limit given for planning. He said that the university is being given three to six weeks of time for pre-planning for what would normally take three to six months.

Next, Jenkins discussed another item going on the student referendum in October. Another potential plan for university expansion is a new student health center. Originally, the plan was to use the existing site to expand the health center, but with King Hall also on the list of buildings to be demolished, Jenkins said it was a "strong possibility" that the new facility could be built on that site.  Jenkins said all research and student input have been gathered for the student health center and graphic renditions of what the building may look like will be available to students by August 22.

SGA Treasurer Jimmy Williams expressed concern over congested parking around the areas of planned construction. While Jenkins could not give a definite answer, he said some ideas in discussions of the LSC expansion were to use the hilly topography of campus to build parking underneath the building to address parking issues, similar to the parking at Sam Houston Village.

"There is no finality to any of these ideas," Jenkins said. "These are just new ideas off the press.

Other proposed plans Jenkins discussed were of a new special event center near the coliseum to house the alumni center, parts of the academic advisement center and a new ballroom.   Other potential construction plans include a new dining facility and residence hall on the south side of campus with new property purchased by the university.

Then, Jenkins updated SGA on other smaller-scale updates to campus facilities. He noted that the university is installing artificial grass on Pritchett Field to combat previous problems with last year’s drought that caused an "unplayable" field.  The field, which costs around $1.1 million, will accommodate club sports, intramural teams and intercollegiate soccer teams. He said it will be completed by September 1.

Next, Jenkins confirmed the University Camp, the home of Bearkat Camp, will be under construction this fall to meet demand from student organizations to have a retreat site close to campus.  "There will be overnight accommodations for 200 people, a swimming pool and one large meeting room and we’re expanding the dining hall all for student organizations to utilize," he said.

Lastly, Jenkins said the Agriculture Facility [on] I-45 will be moving to Gibbs Ranch on 75 North. Once the move is complete, there will be more room for more sports fields on the I-45 spot.

Building a Mystery: LSC Bookstore

We received an email this week from someone seeking information about the Lowman Student Center (LSC) bookstore, specifically ownership:

I am trying to find information about the bookstore companies that ran the LSC bookstore on campus from 1991 to 1998; I was employed there during part of that time. My memory is foggy, so I have been turning to other resources but so far nobody has record or recollection of the owners/management prior to the current store, which is run by Barnes and Noble.

By our estimation Barnes and Noble has operated the University Bookstore since c.2004. A temporary B&N store stood on the site of the current Chemistry and Forensic Sciences Building c.2003, possibly during and after the interior remodeling of the LSC last decade. Anyway:

I know that Follett was running the bookstore during part of my time there, but I cannot recall if they were the earlier company, or the one that took it over. Follett has no record, having purged all records. I am also pretty sure that the university itself ran the bookstore at one point, and staff was under SHSU payroll. It was not when I worked there, though. Still I know there was a change, because I worked for two companies during my employment and I helped with a changeover, and we had to inventory everything. There was then a clearance of most non-book items, as the new managing company did not want to take on too much inventory. I think the books went back to an outside distribution point. Then the store was emptied of all fixtures, etc. A new company came in and built their layout from scratch.

And there’s where things stand today.

If anyone has any memories of the LSC bookstore – be it any owner, be it any time period, or even be it about that thick, red paperback English Composition I book with a pseudo-engraving of Austin Hall on its cover that, for Fall 1994, was a required purchase but (ahem) was bought back at the end of the semester for mere peanuts because the English Department wasn’t going to use it any longer – and wants to help out a fellow Bearkat, drop us a line. She’d be glad to hear from you.

And I’d personally like to see the cover of that English comp book again, too.

Potential LSC Expansion Presented to SGA

Lowman Student Center (LSC) expansion was the recent discussion in the Student Government Association's meeting, according to the report in the April 4 edition of the Houstonian:

The LSC currently has 125,000 gross square feet to service a population of 12,500 people. The master plan created in 2008, [LSC Director Dan] McDaniels told the Senate, asks for 200,000 gross square feet for 20,000 students. Sam Houston State University is steadily growing and is expected to have more than 18,000 students enrolled by next semester, increasing a push for an expansion of the student center.

The facility only has two large meeting rooms; room 320 holds more than 100 people while room 304 holds more than 50.

In spring 2010, students asked the LSC for upgrades and additional entertainment to be added to the Kat Klub. They wanted a brighter space to hangout, television viewing area, video gaming and more computer spaces. After these renovations were made, according to McDaniels, student traffic to the Kat Klub increased by 44 percent while program attendance increased by 92 percent. The amount of student traffic to the Kat Klub has grown by 10 percent since last year.

McDaniels said many students have asked for a bowling center to be added to the Kat Klub; however, with a lack of adequate space in the LSC, this has not been possible. He said the center could be extended to the space of Smith-Kirkley Hall, which will be torn down this May.

It is currently unknown what the cost will be for students in order to expand the LSC. The student center fee cannot increase without a referendum from the students.

“We don’t have the funding for a new student center,” McDaniels said. “We’re still looking for that funding. But what we will look at is as soon as the Board of Regents say that we can proceed, that’s when we’ll get student groups together to say what want in it.”

The LSC was built in 1962 and was renovated in 1984 and 2002. Each renovation cleaned up the existing facility, but did not expand it.

Alums Donate Funds for Garden Clock

Today@Sam reprints a recent Item article about the College Station alumnus who recently donated $30,000 to fund the purchase of a large clock to be located in the new Alumni Garden area.

The garden is located near the Marks Administration Building and the Lowman Student Center. Officials hope the clock will be complete and dedicated by November.

When Ruth and Ron Blatchley received an alumni garden brochure in the mail last year, it sparked their interest to purchase a $5,000 granite bench for the garden, said Kevin Hayes, director of alumni relations. When the idea of a clock for the garden was mentioned, the Blatchleys were even more interested, he said.

The Blatchleys decided the clock would be an appropriate donation and a way to give back to the university. Ron received his bachelor's degree from SHSU in 1968 and received a master's degree in physical education in 1969.

The SHSU Alumni Association is hoping to gain a bell tower for the alumni plaza area as well. However, officials are searching for a donor who would provide funds for the purchase of the $100,000 tower.

Ronny Carroll, an alumni board member and Houston resident, proposed that a bell tower be created in the alumni area. The proposed bell tower would be near the alumni fountain and would have similar architectural features of Old Main, the second oldest building on the SHSU campus, which was destroyed by a fire. The tower would also be the new location of the university chimes which ring every hour.

Officials say they hope the bell tower will be in place by 2004, which marks the 125th year of SHSU. 

Houstonian: The problems of progress

If you have been late for class, had a hard time finding a parking space and trying to figure out where your organization meets, you are part of the student population experiencing the renovation effects of the Lowman Student Center.

Some students complain of the inconveniences, despite approving the renovations by an online vote in April of 1999 and therefore agreeing to a $40 increase in the student services fee.

Although construction began in early December, some students are just now beginning to experience the effects of the renovations.

All offices that were housed in the LSC are in the Frels and Wilson Buildings, which are across the mall area and face the LSC.

Today@Sam: Regents Approve Five New Degrees

Five new degrees, one each in finance, forensic science, and victim studies and two in multimedia authoring, were approved Thursday by Sam Houston State University's governing board.

Bobby K. Marks, Sam Houston president, was also authorized to continue negotiations with the city of Huntsville toward an agreement to build a golf course on university property.

In other business, the regents awarded a contract to Spaw Glass Construction of Houston for the $10 million renovation of the Lowman Student Center, a project that is expected to begin this fall and be completed in about two years.

In other action, the board approved purchase of 9.62 acres of land at Bowers Blvd. and Sycamore.