A number of planned construction projects are expected to give the Mississippi Valley State University campus a new look in the coming years.
Some of these projects involve new buildings in which to learn or live; others are just improvements on present facilities and infrastructure. Some projects have received the go-ahead, while others await approval, funding or both.
But all are aimed at attracting the best students and faculty as the university grows, with more high-tech facilities and other features that can improve the students' educational experience.
"The more high-level programs, the more technical your programs are, then you have an attraction to students of greater diversity in terms of achievement, cultural and racial backgrounds," said Dr. Roy C. Hudson, MVSU vice president for university relations.
Two academic structures aimed at taking Valley to the next level are a new business building and a science and technology building.
The business building is to replace the current facility and house the business, economics and accounting departments. The classrooms in this four-story "smart building" will be able to accommodate PowerPoint presentations tying video and voice into computer systems. It also will have teleconferencing capability.
Hudson said he would like to complete bidding and contract-letting in time to start construction early this summer. Everything has been approved up to the point of putting it out for bids, but there is still a state-mandated bid process to follow.
The plans have forced some shuffling in the department. In addition to other safety concerns associated with construction, the building will be quarantined for asbestos abatement.
The dean and administrative staff already have been moved to Administration Annex I, and classes will be held in other academic buildings and possibly the William W. Sutton Administration Building.
Hudson said these adjustments are a "good inconvenience" but added that placing the classes will be a scramble.
"We're combing the campus to find every nook and cranny," he said.
The time frame for the science and technology building is harder to gauge. It is to be funded by money from the Ayers desegregation suit settlement, and it is uncertain when the university will receive this money.
But this new building, estimated at more than 15,000 square feet and budgeted at $17.1 million, is expected to raise the level of the university's science instruction. It will be a suitable site for conducting leading-edge programs such as bioinformatics, which brings together high levels of disciplines such as biology and chemistry, as well as enhancing offerings in computer science, industrial technology and physics.
The current science building, built in the 1960s, can be modified only so much to fit today's technology, he said.
This program will require more faculty, and a newer high-tech building would be a good selling tool, Hudson said.
"That's part of the motivation, too - to be able to attract high-level faculty with good research capabilities," Hudson said.
Valley isn't trying to compete with technical schools or established programs such as the University of Southern Mississippi's polymer science department, Hudson said.
However, he added, the program does have applications in other disciplines, and "if all you've got are just basic mid-level programs, then you're not going to reach that distinction as a school that's advanced in technology."
Improvements also are planned for the Academic Skills building, another site where PowerPoint presentation rooms are planned. Other work at that site will include lighting improvements, work on the ceilings and tile and a better roof. The designs for this project are still being developed, and about $2 million has been allocated, but the budget probably will have to be increased, Hudson said.
Also scheduled for reroofing are the education and preschool buildings. Flat roofs don't work as well in these spread-out buildings as they might in a rectangular one - plus there are some structural problems with the preschool's walls, Hudson said.
Those projects are funded, but the designs are still being developed. Hudson said he hopes those will move forward this year.
He said the aging health center is due for a renovation as well.
"That building was there when I was a student back in the early '60s," he said, comparing it to "a really old doctor's office or clinic."
The health center's heat and air conditioning are to be upgraded so it's not as drafty in winter and hot in the warm-weather months.
The center also needs more privacy for treatment, and the security features and provisions for the disabled need work, Hudson said.
Also receiving upgrades are some student residence halls.
Edna Horton and University halls have undergone recent renovations to all their rooms. This has included laying tile, painting, replacing and refinishing furniture and some rewiring, as well as other problems needed in individual rooms. Because those dorms were built in the early 1970s or before, they also must go through asbestos abatement.
The Edna Horton improvements were finished in 2001, and work is continuing at University. The University work has taken longer than planned because a higher-than-expected number of air conditioning units had to be replaced.
"We plan to do that real soon, because we want to get back in that dorm, say, this summer," Hudson said. "No later than this summer or the fall."
The University renovations had to be done in stages.
Hudson said this is often necessary because the university might not have all the money needed for a project at once.
It normally receives money from state appropriations each year for renovation and repair, and it is best to do part of the work with the money that is there and finish the job later, he said.
"If you've got money on the table, it's best to go ahead and contract with that and go on and get something spent - particularly on a project that can be done in phases," Hudson said.
This approach wouldn't work with new buildings, Hudson said, because even if they are built in phases, the money needs to be there from the start.
"A new building, you've got to have all your money before they do anything," he said. "But on a renovation-and-repair project, you can do a Phase One, and then the next year, when you get the rest of your money, come back and do Phase Two."
Another ambitious project with an uncertain timetable is the Wellness and Assembly Center. It is to include rooms for health exams, screening and education as well as an 8,000-seat arena and auditorium. Plans are to use it for convocations, conventions, athletic events and entertainment.
The university has money for planning this center but not for infrastructure. Singleton Architects, P.A. of Jackson has estimated that the project will cost $21.7 million.
Hudson said the building is badly needed.
"We have incorporated that as part of our university goals and initiatives - to serve the health and wellness needs of the Delta," he said. "And we actually have some grants for projects in that area, but we don't have a facility."
The construction money will have to be obtained in stages, because a building of that size rarely can be funded in one year, Hudson said. For example, funds for the $12 million Sutton building had to be gathered over three years in $4 million increments.
Hudson said the plan is to get whatever money the university can from the Legislature and match it with grants and other federal funds.
He said the ideal would be to secure half the money this year, get the other half next year and start construction the following year.
"That would be ideal, but that might be ambitious, too," he said.
Then there are improvements that may not be immediately apparent to campus visitors but are vital to daily operations, such as the water and sewer systems.
Mississippi Valley State must maintain these, as well as its electricity.
The university now has an aerated sewage lagoon and a sewage treatment plant.
Tommy Verdell, director of facilities management, said the treatment plant is "one of the nicer ones in the area." It has electronic sensors that indicate when the machines need to release treatment chemicals into the water. It also has digital safety controls and a backup system that can be activated in case of a power failure.
The new plant requires checking only three or four days a week, whereas the old system had to be maintained every day. Eventually, Verdell said, a data line will be added that will enable him to pull up information from his office.
In addition, the campus now has a second water chiller. Its chiller plant, which was built in the mid-1990s, has the capacity for three chillers but until recently only had one, which eventually reached its capacity. The goal is to put as much of the campus as possible on a loop instead of having to cool buildings' water individually.
Verdell said the university also would like to replace its water tower to accommodate the growth on campus. MVSU now has ground storage as well as the tower, but Verdell said he hopes they can build a larger, more attractive tower with electronic controls and do away with the ground storage.
The state Bureau of Buildings has approved a preliminary tower design, and so now the project depends on funding.
Another area targeted for improvement is drainage. Because the campus is in a low-lying area, ponds form when it rains. Verdell said an engineering assessment has been done, and the Corps of Engineers will have to examine the area. The university has received approval from the Bureau of Buildings to initiate a project.
"These are not the things that are, as we say, pretty and glamorous, but they are very important, and they do have to be accounted for," Hudson said.
