Gaertner PAC A Source of Pride For SHSU

SHSU College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication recently received publicity regarding the 4-year-old Gaertner Performing Arts Center, as noted in the Huntsville Item (Jan. 26):

Gaertner Performing Arts Center Wins Construction Award

You gotta love it when it a building wins an award. More so, when the construction team wins for their work. Today@Sam reports that SpawGlass’s work on the Gaertner Performing Arts Center was recently recognized by the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.:

 ...the project...has earned [SpawGlass]  a national Pyramid Award in the institutional category of ABC’s Excellence in Construction Awards. SpawGlass representatives received the award February 22 during the 22nd annual Excellence in Construction Awards celebration at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.

“This project is an outstanding example of the innovation and commitment to superior craftsmanship that embody merit shop construction,” said Michael D. Bellaman, ABC president and CEO.

This was the second construction award in recent months recognizing SpawGlass's work on the Gaertner Performing Arts Center. In October 2011, the company was presented the ICE Award for the Center by ABC of Greater Houston. The award is given to the "Best of Houston" project that best represents the industry.

In 2009, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building – another SpawGlass project – won the Award of Excellence in Texas Construction magazine's Best of 2009 competition.

Payne Concert Hall Dedicated

After 14 years of service to Sam Houston State University as its senior academic officer, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David Payne will retire on July 31, 2011.  During an appreciation and farewell concert and reception held Thursday, May 5, SHSU President Dana Gibson announced the naming of the David and Grettle Payne Concert Hall within the Gaertner Performing Arts Center.

Today@Sam announced some of the changes to SHSU during Payne’s administration:

• Increased enrollment by 27 percent.
• Moved the university from a Carnegie classification of Masters University to the classification of Research Doctoral University.
• Established internal connections with 18 universities in eight countries.
• Opened a multi-institution teaching center in north Houston.
• Established an innovative advising center, which was recognized in 2005 as one of the six best in the nation.
• Restructured Academic Affairs, adding two colleges.

Performing Arts Center Named in Honor of Gaertners

Today@Sam reports that the Texas State University System Board of Regents have announced the naming of the university’s new Performing Arts Center in honor of outgoing President James Gaertner and his wife, Nancy.

Speaking on behalf of the board, Regent Trisha Pollard, of Bellaire, said, “When the board considered the question of naming this magnificent performing arts center this summer, it was clear that it should be named in honor of Jim and Nancy Gaertner because they have done so much for this university and community over the last nine years. This center will impact students and lovers of the arts of the present, as well as young people in future generations who may have never heard a violin or cello in their lives.”

The James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center has its grand opening on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.

Performing artists claim new 100,000-square-foot facility

Monday's [Aug. 9] Item reveals that SHSU took ownership of its new new $38.5 million and nearly 100,000 square foot center Performing Arts Center last week:

The university is preparing to celebrate the public opening of the expansive new performing arts venue Sept. 30.... The center will offer a season full of performances this fall, including a concert by the Houston Symphony Orchestra on Oct. 29.

The building’s centerpiece is an 800-seat concert hall with a well-equipped dance theater seating 160 and recital hall seating 175 nearby.

The new building features a spacious central lobby featuring original public art. SHSU commissioned seven installations for the building, including a hanging sculpture by well-known artist James Surl, who earned his bachelor’s degree at SHSU and is currently exhibiting at Rice University in Houston. Other art and artists include a glass bas relief by Kathleen Ash, a hanging lighted glass sculpture by Jason Lawson, photo collages by Joe Akers and Rebecca Finley, and sculptures by Tim Prentice and Charles Pebworth.

The center also features an outdoor performance area, practice rooms for dance and music, faculty offices, a costume shop and a high-bay space to build sets for theater productions.

Upcoming Events

As noted on the website of the Office of the President:

Teacher Education Center - Building Dedication & Naming in Honor of Eleanor and Charles Garrett [News]

• What: Ceremony, followed by reception
• When: Friday, August 6, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.
• Where: Teacher Education Center

Performing Arts Grand Opening

• What: Ceremony, followed by reception, tours and performances
• When: Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 6:00 p.m.
• Where: Performing Arts Center

Today@Sam also notes Dr. James Gaertner will be the commencement speaker for graduation ceremonies occurring Saturday, August 7, 2010.

Did Not I Dance with You in AB3 Once?

Today@Sam reports that the dance program will pay tribute to the many years spent dancing and performing in Academic Building III during its final Dance Spectrum concert in the building Wednesday, April 28 through Saturday, May 1 before the program moves to the Performing Arts Center.

To learn more about the Dance Spectrum concert please visit the Department of Dance's website, where you can also learn some of the history of the Dance program at SHSU:

• Prior to 1945, all dance courses were taught in the Department of Physical Education for Women, which amounted to a few folk dance classes.  (We wager the classes were taught in the old Women's Gym.)
• In 1945, Dr. Mary Ella Montague was hired to teach dance. Three classes in modern dance were “bootlegged,” and as the years passed, the program grew as subsequent course additions were made.
• By 1950, there were enough dance courses listed officially to create a “load” for a full-time teacher. Dr. Montague began to add theory courses as dance electives.

SHSU To Break Ground On Performing Arts Building

The music, theatre and dance departments will become one step closer to having a new home on Thursday, October 2 when SHSU will break ground for the construction of the new Performing Arts Center.

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Fine Arts Courtyard, between the Music Building and the University Theatre Center.

After a few words by College of Arts and Sciences dean Jamie Hebert and SHSU president Jim Gaertner, a conga line, including students dressed in costumes from various arts productions, will lead attendees to receptions in the Music Building atrium and UTC lobby, according to Maggie Collum, special events coordinator.

Representatives from the Texas State University System office, as well as the building’s architect and construction companies, WHR Architects, Inc. and SpawGlass Construction Corporation, respectively, will be on hand for the ground breaking.

The $38.5 million project will bring together the three programs in a 91,976 square foot facility that will include recital and concert halls, an outdoor performance area, practice and rehearsal rooms, costume storage and offices.

It is anticipated to be completed by the fall 2010 semester.

$30M Academic Building V Scheduled To Open January 2009

The usual start-of-semester rundown of the campus construction projects appeared in the August 28 issue of the Houstonian:

...the corner [of the new campus mall] formerly occupied by the Telephone and University Post Office building was recently demolished and the system relocated to Academic Building I. "We finished the [demolition] before the break between Summer 2 and the start of fall," John McCroskey, Associate Director of the Physical Plant, said. "We still have a few pieces of rubble to haul off, but once we get that moved out of the way we're going to complete the campus mall construction project...."

Academic Building V...is nearing completion. According to McCroskey, the building is about 80 percent complete. "We are planning to open the building for classes in January," McCrosky said. "It's going to be a push but we'll get there" McCroskey said.

Plans [for the new Performing Arts Center] are in the finalizing process, and McCrosky said he expects to break [ground] on October 2.

Plans are also in place for a new dining hall on the north side of campus.

The existing campus master plan expires this year, opening the way for the new plan, which will be approved in November, to further modify the campus. "We're just now completing the master plan for the next twelve years, to send it to the Board of Regents for approval in November," McCroskey said. "The master plan will be approved and we'll probably start programming two or three of those buildings."

Regents Approve Performing Arts Center

Today@Sam reports that SHSU has been given the go ahead by the Texas State University System Board of Regents to begin construction on a $38.5M Performing Arts Center:

The Regents unanimously approved the project during a Thursday morning conference call. The project had been submitted for approval twice previously but withdrawn for further work.

Construction could begin as early as September 2008, pending approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Bond Review Board. The Coordinating Board meets in late July. Completion of the center is estimated in the fall of 2010.

The new building will be constructed on the parking lots just north of the Music Building and Theatre Center, uniting the three into a Fine Arts Complex.

Performing Arts Center

Here’s some proposed artwork – from the Office of the President’s website – of the forthcoming Performing Arts Center, to be built in the parcel of land between the Criminal Justice Center and the Music Building.

Construction Updates

Thursday's Houstonian [November 1, 2007] notes the impending completion of the expanded Mall area, on the former Frels-Wilson buildings.

Also, the SHSU Physical Plant page has been updated (though you wouldn't get that from the top of the page where it still says "April 2007") to include current (or mildly recent) photographs of construction:

• Academic Building V ("Substantial Completion Date: September 2008")
• Mall area ("Substantial Completion Date: October 2007")
• Design of the forthcoming Performing Arts Center ("Substantial Completion Date: December 2009")
• Plans for the new Agriculture Complex at Gibbs ranch
• North dining facility ("Substantial Completion Date: December 2008")

Finally, one can view a few pictures of the Colony Apartments in an early stage of demolition. Also, the contents of the Telephone Services building (that unsightly holdover from the Frels-Wilson demolition) appear to be on the move to Academic Building One...? (I thought it was AB5?)

2007 State of the University Address

Campus construction was one of many topics discussed during SHSU President Jim Gaertner’s annual State of the University address Wednesday afternoon, reports Today@Sam:

Current areas of the university’s physical growth include the $2.25 million mall area extension, scheduled to be complete by October; new surface parking where the Colony Apartments are located will add 350 new spaces by November; the $30 million classroom and office building, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Building (formerly AB5), is expected to be completed by this time next year.

Future construction projects that have been planned, some of which are awaiting approval by the Texas State University System Board of Regents, include a $7.25 million dining facility across from the Student Health Center, with construction expected to begin in May 2008; $35 million performing arts building for dance, music and theatre, with a 15-18 month construction anticipated to begin in the summer of 2008.

In addition, the university has sold the 13.2 acres where the university’s agricultural operations are currently located, across the highway from Raven’s Nest Golf Course, for new hotels and a conference center. By January 2009, Huntsville should have completed a new Fairfield Inn and a Garden Inn, both by Marriott, and a 7,000 square foot conference center with three new restaurants to be constructed on site. The agricultural facilities will be consolidated at Gibbs Ranch with a $2.5 million allotment to do so.

Finally, plans are being made for the finalization of the 2009-2018 Master Plan, “our blueprint for what should be done on this campus” that is anticipated to be completed by May 2008.

Item: $30M project heads SHSU construction

Rachael Gleason reports in the June 2 edition of the Item of some of the upcoming changes to the campus. Some of the highlights:

• The renovation of the mall area started December 2006 with the demolition of the Wilson-Frels complex. Construction in the area began May 2007. The projected completion date of the $2 million mall area renovation is September of this year.“We hoped that we would finish before school started, but we had a late start due to rain,” [Physical Plant Assistant Director John] McCrosky said.
• He [McCrosky] also said the school is in the planning stage for a $35 million performing arts center for the music, dance and theater programs as well as a new $7.5 million dining facility.
• A 300-space parking lot is also in store for the campus.
• Construction on Academic Building V, which will be one of the largest buildings on campus, started several weeks ago with the prep work for the building’s foundation on land east of the Lee Drain Building. The Board of Regents have yet to choose a name for the new building, but McCrosky said the name will likely be called the humanities & social sciences building. The expected date of completion for Academic Building V is September 2008. According to McCrosky, the building will likely be open for classes in Spring 2009.
• In addition to the construction projects that are already under way, SHSU plans to revise a 10-year master plan for future undertakings.
  

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.

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."

President's Update

A few odds and ends from SHSU President Jim Gaertner:

The regents have already given us the approval to remove the Frels and Wilson complex, which is being used for offices, and the Smith-Kirkley residence hall. When we decide to do so, it will be the first step in a series of moves that will give us additional office and classroom space.

The Frels-Wilson removal will allow us to expand and consolidate the present mall/commons area, which will greatly add to the beauty of our already-magnificent campus.

A key element in that series of steps will be construction of an estimated $30 million Academic Building V. It is currently planned for the area south of the Smith-Hutson addition and east of the Lee Drain Building.

While the timelines for these projects have not been set, we hope to have sufficient planning completed to present the ABV project for board approval at their May board meeting, and to proceed with first approval for a new dining facility in August or November.

In our somewhat more distant facility plans are projects that will be of great benefit to our academic capability.

We are continuing to work toward a new performing arts building to provide space and facilities for music, theater, and dance. These programs have been attracting national attention and credit, and as a result are of interest to a growing number of area, state, and national students.

This facility will include classrooms, practice rooms, and recital and concert halls. The discussions of what we would like in such a facility, and what we can realistically afford, are continuing.

Another project that we are planning will be an expansion of the Criminal Justice Center, which was built by inmate labor some 30 years ago at a bargain price to the state and nation, but which is now operating at full capacity.

The Criminal Justice program has brought more national and international attention to Sam Houston State University in its relatively short period of existence than any other on our campus. We are committed to maintaining its reputation for service and preeminence in its field, and having a quality facility is a key to that goal.

February 2005 Regents Report

Today@Sam identifies the construction and renovation projects  totaling over $42 million that were approved by the Texas State University System Board of Regents, including a bell tower, a new visitor's center, a performing arts center, and a new apartment-style residence hall:

"Basically the projects are just going into design," said John McCrosky, assistant director of facilities planning & construction. "The plan is to tear down small houses McCray and Aydelotte and guest apartments and put up new apartment style dorms. The new complex is going to try and have equal amount of parking spaces, hopefully more than 85% parking for residents. The housing building costs will total $15 million."

The bell tower is projected to be built in front of the administration building and has been budgeted up to $600,000.

"[The board of regents] approved it in the past and they just approved more money to be spent on it," said Frank Krystaniak, director of public relations. "A [contribution] was made by Ron Blatchley of College Station."

The performing arts center is expected to cover up to 75,000 square feet and will contain a concert hall, recital hall, rehearsal halls, practice rooms for individuals and ensembles, classrooms, dance studios, dressing rooms, a scene and lighting shop, computer lab for scene design and dance choreography, a recording studio and office space for faculty and staff.
"The visitor's center will go into construction on March 14th, over Spring Break," said McCrosky. "The total cost will be over $3.2 million."

Additional projects approved by the board of regents will include surveillance cameras for Sam Houston Village and a lowered cost for the Introduction of College Studies course.

What was approved?

• $20 million for a performing arts center
• $15 million for a student apartment complex
• $3.3 million for visitor and alumni center
• $917,000 for phase one design of a recreational area along the Trinity River
• $900,000 for renovation of the Teacher Education Center's first floor design
• $725,000 for renovations and elevators for the Bowers Stadium press box
• $550,000 to design electrical and air conditioning modifications to Belvin Hall
• $455,000 to replace the roofs on the Lee Drain Building and a portion of the Evans building