Education Building project changes

Plan calls for new facility
Instead of renovating and expanding Ronan Hall as originally proposed, architects are finalizing plans for constructing a new Education Building on the Central Michigan University campus.

DSA, the architect and engineering firm hired to design the building, came forward with the new proposal after touring current facilities, meeting with College of Education and Human Services faculty and staff members, and reviewing the escalating costs of construction materials in the Hurricane Katrina aftermath.

“The new plan will allow our programming needs to dictate the building’s design, classroom configuration, and lab spaces,” said Karen Adams, dean of the College of Education and Human Services. “Staying in our present location would have limited our options.”

The new 134,500-square-foot facility will be technology-rich, energy efficient, and conducive to interpersonal activity, social learning, professional role modeling, and team building.

Groundbreaking scheduled for spring 2007
Education Building construction is set to begin in early 2007 and be completed by summer 2009. The building will be constructed where the middle quad of Washington Apartments currently stands. Four apartment buildings will be demolished to make room, and the two other quads will continue to serve as university housing.

The facility will be the university’s first certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building, incorporating unique sustainable design aspects such as the use of recycled construction materials, energy efficiency, green roofs, water-use reduction, and day lighting.

“The construction of the new building is very exciting, but what people need to get excited about is what is going to happen within the walls of this new building,” said Cindy Hales, director of development for the College of Education and Human Services.

Space will generate a collaborative environment
The new Education Building will house the departments of Educational Leadership, Teacher Education and Professional Development, and Counseling and Special Education. CMU Charter Schools also will relocate from its off-campus location to the new facility.

The new Education Building will provide the much-needed space both to develop programs for the community at-large and to offer professional development programs for in-service teachers. It also will serve as a central location for CMU’s nationally renowned education centers, enabling the college to offer outreach services and programs in areas such as math, science, literacy, and middle school improvement. These specific areas are directly tied to improved teacher retention in the field – an important objective of the college.

Learning in the new building will take place in three teaching centers of excellence: Child Development Center, Human Development Clinic, and Reading Clinic.

Child Development Center. This center offers training in early childhood education to prepare students for careers in child care centers, preschools, and Head Start programs. In addition to a learning space for CMU students, the Child Development Center will serve as a lab school for local children. The school currently enrolls 108 children through its tuition-based program, Michigan School Readiness, and Head Start. The space in the new facility is being designed specifically for preschool-aged children and will include enhanced observation areas for CMU students in the education program.

Human Development Clinic. This clinic is a teaching center for the college’s graduate counseling program. Through the Human Development Clinic, students completing their final requirements for the master of arts degree in counseling provide continuing clinical services to surrounding schools and communities.

Reading Clinic. Now in its 40th year, the Reading Clinic offers remediation for K-8 students throughout the greater Mount Pleasant area. Space constraints currently limit the program to operating during the summer months. The new facility will make it possible to consider expanding the clinic to a year-round service to the community.

Generous gifts lead way for campaign
The state of Michigan has committed $37.5 million toward the cost of the $50 million project. The college and university must raise a minimum of $7.5 million toward CMU’s $12.5 million matching requirement for the project.

The campaign for the new Education Building is well underway thanks to three generous lead gifts. In support of this project:

• CMU alumnus and former trustee Sid Smith and Judy French Smith, an alumna from the College of Education and Human Services, have given a $1 million gift
• The Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation has pledged $1.5 million
• The Morey Foundation has pledged $1 million
  
  Hales said that she and Adams are meeting with individuals and hosting small gatherings and major events throughout the state to share information about the new Education Building and how college and university donors can help support the project.
  
  

Architectural renderings show the new Education Building views from the northwest and from the north.

A diagram of the Education Building first floor

Did you know?

• Established in 1892 as a teacher education and business institution, CMU:
• Is the second oldest Normal School in Michigan
• Leads the state in the number of master’s degrees in teaching conferred annually
• Provides international student teaching opportunities in countries such as Australia, Ghana, England, and the Dominican Republic
• Holds the distinction as Michigan’s first institution to offer an endorsement in middle level education
• Offers Michigan’s only state-approved principal preparation program at both the master’s and specialist’s levels
• Is a charter member of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), having first received accreditation in 1954