As Joelle Underwood walked through a frequently used lab in Monroe Hall, she couldn’t help but notice the conditions of the building.
She looked up at old pipes, looked down at moisture, soaking socks lining the floors, and looked around at expensive equipment ruined by humidity from every time it rains.
“The facilities need to be renovated. In order to do science in this building, there’s no question we need renovation,” Underwood, assistant professor for the chemistry department, said.
Planning for the renovation of Monroe Hall will take place this semester and renovation is scheduled to start Jan.1, 2012. The renovation will affect working space for students and professors during the renovation and after.
“It will cause some disruption, no doubt about it,” said Ed Kvet, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The good news is, in many cases we don’t mind disruption as long as it has a good, positive ending.”
According to Underwood, when a building is aging so much that students and faculty must stop their work because of frequent leaks, then something needs to be done.
Students also agree that Monroe Hall is in need of renovation.
“I have most of my classes in Monroe and I’d have to say, it’s the most outdated building,” said Claire Landry, psychology senior.
Classes will move and scheduling will be altered during the time of renovation; specifics on these changes will continue to be worked out at the discretion of Loyola officials and the architects.
“We won’t compromise these students education. You may be meeting in classes and hours that you may not be a fan of. You may be crowded in there more than you might like,” Underwood said. “It may be kind of ugly and it may be really noisy, but you’re still going to get a good chemistry education. It’s just going to be a little more challenging for us to pull some of that off during the transition process.”
The architects have been meeting with departments that will be directly affected by the renovation. Underwood said her department met with the architects once and they seem to have a good understanding of what’s necessary.
Underwood said the renovation will bring chaos but “it is well worth it.”
Gretchin Hirt can be reached at
