By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
In technology time, 40 years is an eternity, so the irony that the 1971 building housing the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering hasn’t had a major upgrade since it was built in 1971 wasn’t lost on the Bowling Green State University Trustees.
The board voted Friday to approve $9,315,000 to pay for complete renovation of the building. The total cost of the project is $10.4 million. The board had previously approved architecture and engineering costs. The project will be paid for by state capital appropriations.
Chief Financial Officer Sheri Stoll reported that all the building’s systems will be replaced. The goal, she reported, will be to create interdisciplinary lab and classroom environments and a faculty office area that encourages student collaboration and interaction.
The building’s arrangement is “a bit odd,” , Stoll said, with two separate structures of more than 52,000 square feet, connected by a second floor lobby. The work will be done in phases. “We’re not emptying out the building.”
The work is scheduled to be completed in summer, 2021.
The trustees also recognized a “significant donation” by graduate Ray Marvin by naming the Center for Leadership, the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership.
Marvin is a 1960 graduate in liberal studies from BGSU. He went onto a career as an entrepreneur in technology and a distinguished career in law, including serving as an assistant attorney general and as a captain in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate Corps.
Marvin said that he believes leadership is a crucial skill students need to develop. He also funds three cash awards for students engaged in developing leadership skills.
The trustees also approved the naming of a conference room in the Center for the Forensic Science after fellow trustee Betty Montgomery.
Montgomery is a former state attorney general, who advocated for the expansion of crime investigation labs during her term.
The naming reflects donations by other members of the board of trustees to the project.
President Rodney Rogers called her a “trailblazer,” and a role model, especially to female students.
