Renovated meeting rooms just a hint of what to come

  Thursday, March 19, 2015 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

It’s been 11 months since Pittsburg State University broke ground on a major expansion and renovation of its Overman Student Center. Throughout the construction process, much of the building has been shuttered behind temporary walls and caution tape, but in just a few days, students will get a hint of some of the things to come.

On Wednesday, March 25, five renovated meeting rooms will open.

“The contractor will turn the rooms over to us on Monday and then we’ll need to move furniture in,” said Jeff Steinmiller, director of the Overman Student Center. “The furniture in some of these rooms may be temporary until the end of the project because the placement of all the current and new furniture hasn’t yet been determined.”

Although the bulk of the work, including the large ballroom, student and staff offices, lounge areas and new lower-level U-Club and food options will not be ready until late summer, Steinmiller said the brightness and openness of the meeting rooms that will open Wednesday should give students a sense of excitement about the building that they’ll occupy completely this fall.

“In both the renovated space and the new space, the architects worked to create a sense of openness,” Steinmiller said, noting expanses of glass that look out over the Oval or east to the library. “The hallways are wide and straight. Some of the rooms have glass walls. Wide hallways run the length of the building from the west to the east and new entrances on the north and south will form a crossroads for students walking from parking lots to classrooms. It’s a really dramatic change.”

The meeting rooms to open next week are the Heritage Lounge, the Governors Room, the Prairie Room, the Balkans Room and a new meeting room called the Cottonwood Room. For more information, contact Barbara Barto, scheduling coordinator, at 620-235-4858.