Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration, delivered a report on contracts and Facilities Management projects to the Regents Dec. 13.
Mangels highlighted chiller repairs underway near the boiler plant, upgrades being made to the Towers West and North elevators and repairs set to begin in January on utility tunnels near Greek Hill. The tunnel work is being done by Kiefner Brothers.
She also highlighted the Experiential Lab under construction in Dempster Hall and the replacement of scoreboards at Houck Stadium and the Southeast Softball Complex.
The Experiential Lab will be located in the former student lounge area across from Glenn Auditorium on the first floor of Dempster Hall. The lab will provide experiential learning space for several business disciplines to create synergy through collaboration, idea-building and student involvement, Mangels said. The space will be a place for students to participate in hands-on activities using technology currently used in the business environment. It will feature three experiential learning areas: a financial analysis lab, and hospitality management and sales areas. There will also be a collaborative space to be used for business case competition team meetings.
In addition, Mangels said a Request for Proposals will be issued to replace the current scoreboards with new digital video boards at the Southeast Softball Complex and Houck Stadium in an effort to enhance the fan experience. The video boards are expected to be installed before the start of the softball and football 2020 seasons. The softball video board will be 24-by-12 feet. The football video board will be 52-by-33 feet, she said.