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Growing up
Topics: CSUB, growth, changes, construction, new buildings, students, college, university, recreation center, Science III, class
Posted by LisaW Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments For Northwest students at Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB), a walk to class is likely accompanied by the soundtrack of a major construction zone.

Steel beams clang into place, giant trucks and tractors growl and beep, air guns pop and hiss, wet cement plops, hammers bang away.

The source of this noise is partially obstructed by temporary fencing and green tarps. Were it not for the towering masses of steel rising above, most people would be wondering what is going on in the center of campus.

Two projects are currently underway on campus at 9001 Stockdale Highway — the Science III building and the student recreation center.

Originally scheduled for completion this month, Science III — future home of the math and computer science departments — is expected to be open in time for the spring quarter.

“We’re very close,” said Mike Neal, CSUB vice president of business administrative services. Among other things, Neal, a Northwest resident, oversees capital planning and development on campus.

“If you were to walk through the building right now, it looks fine — but because of the nature of the classes that will be in there we have to make sure all of the infrastructure is in place to support those classes, such as the computer connectivity,” he said.

Once completed, the building will also help relieve the space shortage currently experienced throughout the campus. Much like those in the preceding Business Development Center, Science III classrooms will serve the entire university.

“When we build buildings even though they have a title, that doesn’t mean they will be used exclusively by that discipline,” Neal said. “We’re growing and we don’t have the luxury of one building serving a single department. These classrooms are going to serve the goals of the entire university.”

One building that will have a specific purpose, though, is the new $17.1 million student recreation center. The two-story facility located just south of the already existing Student Union, will help students incorporate fitness into their daily lives.

The lower level will feature three regulation-sized basketball courts, facilities for specialized fitness exercise equipment, martial-arts training, aerobics exercise and even a rock-climbing wall and juice bar. The upper level will have weight training, additional exercise and fitness equipment and a suspended jogging track.

“This whole area (the student union and recreation center) is really going to become a hub of student activity,” said Jaclyn Hernandez, public affairs specialist.
A CSUB graduate herself, Hernandez said she is excited about the new addition to the campus.

“As a student there were so many times where I had an hour or two between class and I didn’t want to leave because I’d lose my parking spot,” she said. “I’d just wait around doing nothing really. It would have been the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a little workout.”

When these projects are complete, the construction zone will still be around, it will just migrate to a different area of campus.

The new Division I baseball team will soon take the spotlight in the construction on campus. Practice facilities and a stadium will be built to support the team and possibly Bakersfield’s minor league, according to Neal.

The drive to Division I status and focus on the university’s sports department doesn’t mean that arts and humanities have been left by the wayside, however. A brand new art lab and humanities complex are also in the works.

“Our current art department is housed in facilities that were not designed to be art labs,” Neal said.

A casual observer will notice this problem when walking by the current art department. Throughout the year, larger art project components seem to be overflowing out of the doors to the studios where students create, leaning outside against walls and lined up in the breezeway nearby.

Construction for the art labs has already secured funding, but the humanities complex is reliant on a bond measure that will be left up to voters in the fall 2008 election, according to Neal.

Because Bakersfield has a history of failing to pass bonds, there is slight concern among CSUB administrators about their ability to secure funding for the humanities project, he said.

“I hope voters understand that these bonds are not just for us, its for pre-K up through higher education,” Neal said. “It’s the only way for us to get these new facilities, we have no choice but to borrow the money. And we need these facilities.”

The two current projects will put the campus at capacity for infrastructure.

“The un-sexy side of all these new projects is the infrastructure,” Neal said. “Our central plant is just able to handle the new rec center and science building. We will need to expand that and we will probably want to build a satellite plant so all our eggs are not in one basket. We also need to develop our sewer system, which is the really un-sexy side of things.”

The central plant provides air conditioning and heating to the entire campus.

A new residential village will also be among the next few projects in the northwest part of campus. This additional student housing will be a great improvement over the 30-year-old “Lord of the Rings-like” themed dorms that currently serve the campus.

“Even though the dorms are only 30 years old, they are based on a model that is over 60 years old,” Neal said. “The newer model is for suites where three to four students share a single, private bathroom instead of large, communal bathrooms.”

A feasibility study is currently out to discover what students desire in the way of housing as well as the cost to build the project, a business plan and environmental impact reports.

One look at the master plan suggests years of construction as the campus buildings — as well as the students and faculty — come in line with the vision of excellence put forth by CSUB President Horace Mitchell.

“It’s kind of an exciting time right now with all of these changes because we’ve been a sleepy little campus for so long, and now it is finally maturing and evolving to meet the needs of the region it serves,” Neal said.

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