Laboratory Renovations

A key goal of Southeast's Title III Project is to renovate six outdated life science teaching laboratories located in Magill Hall (constructed in 1958). The costs of construction will be covered by a combination of federal grant and university match funds. The intended outcomes are to:

• reduce the amount of deferred maintenance needs by 10,474 square feet
• increase laboratory conformance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines
• modernize the facilities for collaborative, technology-resourced and inquiry-based instruction.

Renovations Key Personnel

 

University

Title III Project Director:	Dr. Chris McGowan Dean of the College of Science, Technology and Agriculture
Renovations Project Manager:	Lisa Howe Senior Project Manager, Facilities Management
Radiation Safety Officer:	Dr. Walt Lilly Professor of Biology
Chemical Hygiene Officer:	Dr. John Kraemer Assoc. Professor of Biology/Environmental Science

 

Contractual

Architect for the anatomy and physiology laboratories' renovation	Amee Louise Boettcher, affiliated with Pellham Phillips Architects & Engineers, headquartered in Springfield, MO.
Construction contractor for the anatomy and physiology laboratories' renovation	Nip Kelly Equipment Company, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Architect for the overall renovation of Magill Hall and remaining Title III laboratory renovations	The Clark Enersen Partners, Science & Research Design Group, headquartered in Kansas City, MO.
Construction contactor for the overall renovation of Magill Hall and remaining Title III laboratory renovations	River City Construction, L.L.C., headquartered in Peoria, IL.

Bond-Funded Renovations

In October 2010, the University’s Board of Regents approved issuing bonds to fund campus-wide infrastructure improvements including $17.9 million for renovating the Magill Hall of Science in its entirety. The goal of the Magill Hall renovation is to replace antiquated HVAC systems, improve energy efficiency, remediate hazardous materials and correct accessibility issues throughout the building.

Through the bond-funded overall building renovation, Title III project rooms will be even more modernized with the complete replacement of mechanical and electrical systems in the building; the replacement of exterior windows; and the furring out and insulation of exterior walls. Greater conformance with OSHA standards and ADA guidelines will result from the installation of a building-wide fire protection sprinkler system and elevator fire curtains on each floor.

In the building's new schematic design, spaces are aggregated by scientific discipline, a floor plan which will provide greater opportunities for the utilization of shared equipment and a more functional and collaborative environment for faculty and students.

The new adjacency of the animal museum to the animal biology teaching laboratory and of the herbarium to the plant biology teaching laboratory will also provide students with more experiential learning opportunities. In light of the new floor plan, Title III renovating has been expanded to include these two collection rooms which increases, from 7,889 to 10,474 square feet, the amount of deferred maintenance which project renovating will address.

Revised Timeline of Title III Laboratory Renovations

 

October 2011 – July 2012	Construction of the reconfigured animal biology, plant biology and biology education teaching laboratories,the biology department's animal museum and herbarium, six preparation rooms, and one storage room.
November 2010 – August 2011	Design development of all Title III Project rooms which remain to be renovated. These are the animal biology, plant biology, biology education and interactive biology teaching laboratories, associated preparation rooms, and the biology department's animal museum and herbarium.
February 2011 – October 2011	Demolition and hazardous material abatement of the eastern half of Magill Hall, the location of the animal biology, plant biology and biology education teaching laboratories, seven preparation rooms and the biology department's herbarium and animal museum.
October 2011 - July 2012	Demolition and hazardous material abatement of the western half of Magill Hall, the location of the interactive biology teaching laboratory and an adjacent preparation room.
May - July 2012	Modification of the renovated anatomy and physiology teaching laboratories and the preparation room between them. The rooms' systems are modified to interface with the building's new mechanical systems; exterior windows are replaced; and exterior walls are furred out and insulated.
August 2012 – July 2013	Construction of the reconfigured interactive biology teaching laboratory and adjacent preparation room.

Laboratory Renovating Results

By the conclusion of grant year four, six life science teaching laboratories and 12 adjacent teaching related rooms were renovated to OSHA code and ADA accessibility guidelines and reconfigured to facilitate technology-resourced, inquiry-rich teaching.

Deferred maintenance needs were reduced by 10,746 square feet through the replacement of out-dated plumbing, wiring, light fixtures, windows, cabinetry, sinks, faucets and shelving with updated, energy efficient infrastructure, fixtures and furnishings.

OSHA and ADA conformance is increased through:

• Completed hazardous material abatement including remediation of Americium 241 and removal of all asbestos-containing materials.
• The installation of emergency showers and eyewashes and seamless abuse-resistant flooring in each laboratory and a building-wide fire protection sprinkler system and elevator fire curtain on each floor of the building.
• The reconstruction of all interior and exterior doorways to meet dimension and door handle specifications per ADA accessibility guidelines.

Modern instruction is facilitated by equipping all six remodeled laboratories with:

• Can lights, whiteboards and tackboards
• Energy efficient appliances (e.g., dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers)
• A reverse osmosis (RO) water tap system which is of higher purity than a distilled water system
• Wi fi, and electrical and data outlets at each student table
• Movable student tables and ergonomic student chairs (In the animal biology teaching lab student tables are fixed due to plumbing requirements)
• Wall-mounted Smart Boards (with the exception of the anatomy and physiology teaching labs)

To resource the new curricular modules and pedagogical innovations, each renovated laboratory is being equipped with the following new teaching tools:

In the anatomy and physiology teaching laboratories:

• Anatomical models
• Software interface and sensors for physiology labs
• 20 laptop computers and ten dedicated desktop computers
• 6 compound and 20 dissecting microscopes
• 2 document cameras
• 1 shared incubator

In the animal biology teaching laboratory:

• A second ceiling-mounted projector and a projector screen (for displaying images simultaneously)
• An overhead camera (for projecting images of actual specimens)
• A digital camera with illuminator and focuslock software
• 15 dissecting microscopes
• 18 binoculars and 1 spotting scope
• Additional slides and skeletons

In the plant biology teaching laboratory:

• A second ceiling-mounted projector and projector screen
• A table-top laminar flow hood
• Two growth racks (one of which is shared with the biology education lab)
• 16 dissecting and 16 compound microscopes
• A Nikon NiU teaching microscope with epiflourescence, CCD camera and software
• 6 vis-only spectrophotometers and 1 biospectrophotometer
• An orbital shaker

In the biology education teaching laboratory:

• A second ceiling-mounted projector and projector screen
• A document camera
• A new instructor's table
• A laptop charging cart

In the interactive biology teaching laboratory:

• A second ceiling-mounted projector and a projector screen
• 15 laptop computers and 1 charging cart
• 20 GPS units
• 16 additional skeletons
• A DNA Size Selection System

In Project Year 5, following the completion of all building renovations, these additional teaching tools were installed: 11 electronic balances, 3 thermacyclers, 6 microcentrifuges and 1 refrigerated microcentrifuge, a multi-cell plate reader and other cell-molecular equipment and supplies.

Biology Room Condition Survey Results

To assess student satisfaction with the remodeled facilities, a Biology Room Condition Survey was administered pre and post project renovating

Pre renovation surveying was conducted in spring 2008 in all six biology teaching laboratories and again in fall 2010 in the animal biology, plant biology, biology education and interactive biology teaching laboratories. The total number of pre renovation respondents was 1077.

Post renovation surveying was conducted during three spring semesters: in the anatomy and physiology teaching laboratories in 2011, in the animal biology, plant biology and biology education teaching laboratories in 2013 and in the interactive biology teaching laboratory in 2014. The total number of post renovation respondents was 874.

A comparison of pre and post survey results shows that student satisfaction with room comfortableness, attractiveness, efficiency and safety increased significantly post remodeling. (Note comparison does not include questions 21, 35 and 36 which surveyed students about their learning method preferences.)

Of the 34 room condition items surveyed, students were more satisfied post renovating with from 30 to 34 in each laboratory. The change in satisfaction was statistically significant for 93% of these response trends (Mann Whitney U-Test, p< .05 one-tailed).

Teaching Laboratory	# of room conditions which trended to more satisfied post renovating	# of more satisfied trends that were statistically significant	# of room conditions which trended to less satisfied post renovating	# of less satisfied trends that were statistically significant
A&P I	32	30	2	0
A&P II	34	32	0	0
Plant Biology	33	31	1	0
Animal Biology	32	29	2	0
Biology Education	30	27	4	0
Interactive Biology	34	32	0	0
Total for all six rooms	195	181	9	0