Construction is set to begin in Fleck Hall, the west-most building on our campus, later this semester. This is the first in what may be a series of renovations made to accommodate the university’s new nursing program, a major part of Strategic Plan 2027.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” director of operations Jim Morris said. “I think we all are, just to see this happen and actually see the vision become a reality. I think it has the potential to be transformative for those students.”
According to project manager Sheri Coibion, there are plans to reutilize the space, but most of the original building skeleton will remain as-is. Almost all of the construction will be for converting the inside of the classrooms on the first floor into a simulation laboratory.
“One of the labs is going to be kind of a flexible space,” Morris said. “There’s one wall that’s being torn down, and then they’re making it into this observation room where they’re going to install some windows, so that they can look in.”
Morris is planning for a March 2024 deadline. The timeline accounts for any hiccups along the way, as the department would then have the summer to catch up. Once construction is complete, head of the nursing department Donna Beuk, Ph.D., will need to initiate the accreditation inspection process.
Nursing courses began this semester and will continue during construction, as will all other courses. The area of Fleck that will be undergoing changes is inaccessible, ensuring that all current or future courses will not be displaced or delayed by the construction.
Morris and Coibion’s mission is to transform the space while maintaining functionality in the building and on campus in general. During construction, students will still have access to the stairs and elevator, as well as the lactation room. Fleck is currently ADA compliant and will continue to be throughout construction and afterward.
There is a potential for more construction down the road as the program continues to grow. The first floor of Fleck was chosen because there wasn’t time for major construction with the nursing program courses beginning this fall. The department’s original plan was to have a whole nursing building constructed on campus, but the current deadline does not allow for that.
With the upcoming changes, Beuk’s hope is to create a simulation learning center for current students in the nursing program and to garner interest for prospective students.
“(We are) integrating hands-on experiential learning, preparing students for every scenario that they could possibly think up, to encounter before they actually encounter it,” Beuk said.
This is the first semester that the program is up and running, and with construction underway and accreditation in process, Beuk hopes to continue bringing in more students over time. This is the first of many steps to reaching her goal.
“I mean, it’s all about the mission.” Morris said. “This is going to be, I think, once we get this going, it’ll be transformational. We’re all excited to see how it’s going. I’m really excited to be part of it.”
