Winter 2007

Construction Update

Library complete, engineering building in use

Even with the chilly temperatures in Oxford, construction efforts - mostly on the inside - are proceeding this winter.

Construction of the King Café was completed at the end of the fall semester, just in time for final exams. The café was part of the third project in the King Library rehabilitation which spanned 10 years. With the ground floor coffee shop, a customized home for the special collection of rare materials, new lecture and seminar rooms, and space designed for technology, the library has been transformed from a building once used primarily for print materials research into a dynamic, multimedia learning hub.

Finishing touches are being made to the new engineering facility and it is fully occupied for the spring semester. The new building, built along High Street between Benton and Pearson halls, includes the departments of mechanical and manufacturing engineering as well as electrical and computer engineering.

With the psychology department moved out of Benton Hall, the complete interior renovation of that building can proceed. It will eventually connect to the new engineering building and house paper science and engineering. There will also be additional classrooms and laboratory space.

The $26 million complex will include the dean’s office in the renovated Benton, scheduled to be completed by January 2008, bringing all the engineering programs under one roof. A related project in the vicinity is the nearby underground parking garage, which is being designed now for the site of the
original Goggin Ice Arena.

During this season, Presser Hall is also being rehabilitated. The 1931 structure has been gutted and will be ready by summer of 2008 to house the music department. Renovation of the Center for Performing Arts is scheduled to follow, creating major new facilities for the department, with Presser Hall the focal point.

Warfield Hall, the home of student affairs, is also being emptied for renovation. The 1962 building will be reconfigured to serve Miami’s 16,000 students at Oxford – double the number it was originally designed to serve.

Construction of the business school’s Farmer Hall will begin later this spring with a projected opening of January 2009.