On a recent tour of campus, MSU President Dr. Jay Morgan wasn’t alone when he said it is a historic time for Morehead State.
“From a university historical standpoint this is probably the largest building boom since the sixties or seventies. So, we’re proud of it and I’d say we’re not finished,” said Morgan.
The building boom includes the construction of the new science and engineering facility located behind the Howell-McDowell Administration Building. Kim Oatman, the assistant vice president for facilities and operations on campus said the new 123,000 square foot structure will house academic programs such as biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, manufacturing and more.
“We actually have about 35 labs in this building, its predominantly labs. Got seven or eight classrooms of different sizes and stuff. It’s predominantly labs, some classrooms, and offices,” said Oatman.
The university marked a significant milestone with a building topping ceremony for the new science and engineering facility in November. MSU students had the opportunity to sign a metal beam which, once placed, marked the structural completion of the new facility.
The building, which will replace the Lloyd Cassidy and Lappin, includes modern structural amenities like metal reinforced concrete, fireproofed beams and structural elements, and a unique heating and cooling system Oatman said is both efficient and cost effective.
“We got about 180 geothermal wells and that’s getting ready to start up soon. So, this building will be heated and cooled through a geothermal system which is highly efficient and will save us on utility bills but also provides a level of comfort we just don’t have in Lappin,” said Oatman.
The construction of the future science and engineering building is not the only project making significant progress on campus. Prefontaine Hall is the brand new 80,000 square foot residence hall named in honor of MSU alumni and supporter Andy Prefontaine.
The new $38 million dormitory will house 310 students across four co-ed residential floors. The per-semester rate students will pay to stay in Prefontaine Hall is still to be determined. Oatman said construction on the future residence hall is going well and staying under budget.
“This project was estimated at about $35 million, the bids came in significantly under budget and so we’re still - anytime you’re doing construction you could still have issues that come up so could wind up spending more than that - but it’s actually going very smoothly,” said Oatman.
According to university officials, Prefontaine Hall will include amenities like air-conditioned suit-style rooms, as well as study lounges, multipurpose rooms, and kitchens on every floor.
The dorm rooms will include their own geothermal heating pumps, which can be maintained from the corridor, so maintenance workers never need to enter a dorm to work on them. President Morgan said students had a say in how these convenience and efficiency styled features were implemented.
“We worked with SGA, Student Government Association, to design essentially this building and these rooms and I think you all had like six, maybe, options for rooms and bathrooms and I think pretty much unanimously, across the board, students wanted this option,” said Morgan.
With the exception of those for RAs, most dorm rooms in Prefontaine Hall will house two students with each room sharing a connecting bathroom with another unit. Due to efficiency reasons, some rooms in the new dormitory will house three students.
Not far from the 80,000 square foot Prefontaine Hall is the location of the former Normal Hall, which was demolished over the summer. A new $10 million building will be replacing the razed hall, housing approximately 80 students.
Oatman said the university has lots of construction to finish between the new residence halls, engineering building, and other projects.
“This is really neat because starting next semester we’re going to open up a new building every semester for the next, about two years. Next semester in January we’re opening the vet tech. That’ll be finished here next month, and then after that we’re going to finish in August we’ll finish this one [Prefontaine Hall] we’ll open it up for the fall of 26,” said Oatman.
President Morgan said the construction projects will help to grab students’ attention when they’re considering a college or university. He believes with careful planning, modern technologies, and even the input and help of the university’s very own students, Morehead State will be growing at a rate not seen for some time.