Construction.
At The University of Memphis, it's not just a noun, but also a way of life.
Over the past few years, students have navigated around building projects like the bookstore, the Student Activities Complex and the FedEx Technology Institute. Currently, crews are working in the Carpenter Complex, Mitchell and Jones Halls and all over campus, complying with accessibility laws.
The construction won't stop with these projects, however. The U of M master plan includes such well-known projects as the Central Avenue bridge and The University Center and lesser-known projects like new student housing and a new music center. The plan is updated every five years and estimated completion dates can change every time a new need arises.
"Some of our overall goals in our day-to-day operations are to develop a safe and secure campus with a great sense of community, easy access and pedestrian-oriented," said Tony Poteet, assistant vice president of Campus Planning and Design. "The plan has to be visionary, but it has to be practical."
For students, that means more housing, up-to-date science labs and safer ways from the parking lots onto the main campus.
What it doesn't mean is higher tuition. Few of the construction projects are funded through student funds, Poteet said. The notable exception would be the Student Activities Complex, including the completed student mall and the not-yet-begun University Center.
Many projects are funded through the State of Tennessee, while others use private donations and project-specific fundraising, Poteet said.
Along with the changes to the physical campus, many Campus Planning projects go unseen by students, he said. Infrastructure work, science lab safety updates and updates of space for research work are necessary, yet sometimes under funded projects.
"We receive maintenance funding, but struggle with deferred maintenance," Poteet said, citing labs that have almost closed due to required safety maintenance that was put off until the last minute. "We could really use more funding for that."
Many students believe some buildings on campus, such as the Administration Building, are virtually empty. On the contrary, officials said.
"We're in need of space," said Ruthie Bassford, director of Space Planning and Utilization. "It's a saying around here that if you want space, someone has to give it up."
Finding space that is empty and unassigned is "quite a problem," she said. In the Administration Building, from which many student services offices moved to Wilder Tower, the vacant offices immediately filled back up. The only empty spaces are two small, second floor offices, basically inaccessible third-floor rooms and an auditorium that is unusable because there are not enough fire exits.
Wilder Tower includes five unfinished, and thus empty, floors. Two will be finished in time for the offices currently housed at The University Center to relocate for the duration of the construction of the new building, Poteet said.
In The University Center, the old bookstore space is empty, but, as the building is to be torn down, nothing has been assigned there, Bassford said.
Finally, as far as office space goes, there is "a little bit" in Smith Chemistry Building from where the geology department moved to Johnson Hall, she said.
Some needed space will be found when the law school moves to the new downtown location, Poteet said.
"As research increases, there is a corresponding need for space," he said. There is a research dollar goal of a quarter of a million, he said. Last year, The U of M received more than $40,000 in external research funding.
In addition, more space will be needed to accommodate growth in the graduate and doctoral programs.
Residence Life controls one untenanted building on campus (Robison Hall).
"It could be made operational," Poteet said.
Residence Life is following some of the latest campus housing trends when planning for the future, said Danny Armitage, associate dean of students. Like many universities, The U of M is beginning to tie housing to colleges and academic programs.
For example, the current construction at Carpenter includes a foreign languages complex, which will house foreign language students together and will make possible language-oriented extracurricular activities.
Similar ideas call for music students to live in housing that includes sound-proof practice rooms, art student housing to include work studios and architecture student housing to include architecture desks.
"There are many studies that say if you can capture people together, they develop support systems," Armitage said. "We are looking at what is the best environment for freshmen and for upperclassmen."
Though Armitage said Residence Life is looking for what students want, these plans don't sound like anything Rawls Hall resident Kimberly Mayfield would want.
"Meeting other majors is part of the experience," the sophomore speech pathology major said. "It may be that you meet someone from another major and change your mind."
The "living-learning" plan has future housing complexes placed in the middle of campus, near the Rose Theater and The University Center as well as academic buildings. Alternate plans, following the current trend, have housing located on the outskirts of campus.
"We think people who live on campus ought to live in the heart of campus," Armitage said. "We want housing to be where students can be involved, near places students go to interact, to create a sense of community."
