MSU buildings could see as much as $55 million in repairs and upgrades if the Board of Trustees passes a resolution to pay for the changes Friday.
Aging university facilities are in need of the updates, said Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations.
Poston said most buildings usually need repair after 50 years.
“Since we had such a huge amount of growth in the 1950s and 1960s, that’s kind of the period we’re entering into,” he said. “We build very good buildings.”
Poston said there are numerous things that need attention including fume hoods in the Chemistry Building. The hoods capture gases released during chemical reactions and serve as vents.
“You obviously can’t teach chemistry if you don’t have enough hood pressure to evacuate vapors,” he said. “It’s at its maximum capacity.”
University officials are planning about $100 million in projects during the next three years. The projects include light fixture upgrades, Spartan Stadium and track improvements, and renovations to the Physics-Astronomy Building.
In order to pay for the project, the university must issue bonds, Poston said. The bonds will allow the university to borrow money for improvement projects.
“It’s sort of the same thing as going down to the bank and getting a loan from your house,” he said.
MSU Trustee Colleen McNamara said the condition of university buildings isn’t terrible, but they could use some maintenance.
Keeping the facilities in good shape helps attract faculty and students, she said. Trustees also will be asked to approve a 5.4 percent increase to live in residence halls and a 6 percent increase in University Apartments.
“We’re in charge of this campus,” she said. “We need to make sure that it’s healthy going into the future.”
William Spielman, chairman of the Department of Physiology, worked in Giltner Hall, but recently moved to the new Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building. The building will be dedicated Friday.
Spielman said making repairs to older structures is an important move for MSU. “There are significant delayed renovations that need to be done that probably need to be done on a number of buildings on campus,” he said.
Chemistry Professor Gary Blanchard said the improvements will be a “tremendous benefit” to his department.
“The chemistry department wants its people to be safe,” he said. “As we learn more and more we discover we need more and more hoods, so we minimize exposure to chemicals.”
The improvements are necessary for a campus that hopes to make a name for itself in science, Blanchard said.
“If we can put more hoods in the building we wind up having people do more experiments,” he said. “It’s a big step in the right direction.”
And the Chemistry Building isn’t the only facility that could use an upgrade, Blanchard said.
“I think that renovations across campus are badly needed,” he said. “If we are going to be doing 21st century experiments, we need modern facilities to do that.
Shannon Murphy can be reached at murphy78@msu.edu.
Ed Ronco can be reached at roncoedw@msu.edu.
