As the end of the semester draws near for Buena Vista University (BVU), forum renovations have taken off. Pre-construction work began on May 7, in a few less used spaces.

The upper level of the Centennial Room, Hansen 8, the board room and Larson dining room, and the bathrooms in the hallway connecting Dixon Eilers and the Forum would all be inaccessible for the remainder of the semester, according to a BVU News campus-wide, release.

“The timeframe for this project is so narrow, that they just had to get a head start somewhere,” says Dale Scully, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students. “This just allows them to get a few rooms totally demolished and ready for construction in the summer and the fall.”

Vice President of Finance and Administration Suzette Radke, said the administration had to be strategic scheduling this project.

“We also had to look at the schedule of students, like finals week. We’re making sure all activity is quiet during finals week. We have to have the kitchen ready when students come back,” said Radke.

They have to plan around the many events hosted by Events Services throughout the summer.

With such a tight schedule, a project like this might seem daunting, but Radke and Director of Facilities Keith Schmidt, have complete faith in the contracting company.

“It appears to be some very good contractors. And they have the means. They are big companies,” said Schmidt. “They’ve got staff to be able to do this.”

Radke says that in order to have a successful completion of this project, everyone needs to do their part.

“A big key is us getting stuff out of there,” said Radke. “We have to keep people out of there so they can go in and work.”

Schmidt adds that in each weekly meeting, each person had tasks he or she had to complete by a certain date.

“And if we didn’t do it, we had to tell the world, meaning this group, why we didn’t have that part done, why it was holding us up. It kept everybody on task and kept everybody on the same timeline,” said Smith.

All the change is very exciting for the BVU community. Scully says that he hopes the new spaces that the renovations will provide will bring students, faculty, staff—everyone on campus—closer together.

“I’m really excited to see how all of that is going to work out, how we can grow it, build it, and make it stronger, and just make it more of a systemic part of who we are as a university,” said Scully.

The projected timeline for the renovations is as follows:

May 7 – Begin some demolition

May 26 – Graduation

May 27-28 – Move everything out of forum

May 29 – Begin demolition and renovation of the forum

August – Complete kitchen, dining area, mail room, book store, and bathrooms

December – Complete entire project, including school of business, leadership center, and student affairs

All the funding for the forum renovations have come from donations specifically targeted towards this project.