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November 7, 2003

Trustees advance improvements at Young Hall, veterinary hospital

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University Board of Trustees today (Friday, 11/7) voted to move forward on the second phase in renovating most of Young Hall.

On Thursday (11/6) the board's finance committee also approved building a small facility to house horses for the School of Veterinary Medicine.

The board hired Turner Construction Company of Indiana, an Indianapolis-based contractor, to renovate the sixth, seventh and eighth floors of Young Hall, formerly known as Young Graduate House.

The project will change student residence rooms into office space, making each floor fully handicap-accessible and improving telecommunication and fire protection systems.

Other than combining some rooms to make larger conference rooms, the layout of the floors will remain largely the same.

"As demands for space around the university change, it is important that buildings be used in the most efficient ways," said Kenneth P. Burns, Purdue executive vice president and treasurer. "Many departments around Purdue need more space, and renovating Young Hall gives us a way of providing additional office space without having to build more new buildings."

This phase of the project is budgeted at $3.85 million, and the funds will come from several sources.

The renovations are expected to be finished on the sixth floor by May 1 and on the seventh and eighth floors by Aug. 1. Information Technology at Purdue is expected to move some of its offices into the sixth floor, and the Center for Instructional Service and administrative offices from the Schools of Engineering will move into the seventh floor. Several departments will move offices into the eighth floor, including Undergraduate Studies and Oral English Proficiency and Preparedness.

Purdue has already renovated the fourth and fifth floors of Young Hall, which now house offices for information technology and the School of Technology's organizational leadership and supervision department. The building's first floor is composed mostly of offices, including those for international programs and the graduate school. Upperclassmen and graduate students still live on the second and third floors.

The finance committee approved building an 8,640-square-foot Equine Health Sciences Annex for the School of Veterinary Medicine. Burns said the annex will primarily provide housing for horses awaiting evaluation on the school's high-speed equine treadmill, which helps scientists optimize horse health and performance. The project will cost $350,000.

"Currently, there is very limited stall space available for the school's equine sports medicine program," Burns said. "The facility will also add a significant amount of space for teaching students involved in equine clinical programs."

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Source: Kenneth P. Burns, (765) 494-9705, kpburns@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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