Malfunctions hobble campus

 
The start of Spring semester has been riddled with malfunctions on the Baton Rouge campus that has bewildered many that have affected students and faculty alike.​
The main buildings that have been affected are T.H. Harris Hall, Rodney G. Higgins Hall, and the John B. Cade Library as well as a campus wide blackout. Also in the first week of school a campus blackout occurred in the first week of school.  ​
Dean of Libraries Emma Bradford Pitt described the situations as being surprising, and no date being currently set for it being completed when phone calls were made to the Physical Plant.​
She later went on to say that there have been many complaints about the uncomfortable heat inside the library. ​
“Many of the buildings have very old systems,” said HVAC Heating & Ventilation Director Wardell Jones.
He also went on to say how each building’s thermostat currently has to be manually changed whenever the weather becomes uncomfortable in a building. ​
“The blackout incident on campus was not connected to what we do here,” said Director of Physical Plant, Henry L. Thurman III.​
Thurman said, “the Chill Water System has to be finished before it can work.”
He also mentioned ongoing construction around campus is installing this system, but it will take sometime to be completed.  ​
Jones also went on to say that because of the current budget cuts his staff has been trimmed down to just six guys to maintain more than 25 buildings. These six men work in three groups of two men to properly work on each issue in a building. The current unpredictable weather is causing them to have to work twice as hard. ​
Jones then said that “money and man power” is needed to truly address these problems. Some systems are also turned off later in the day or when they aren’t in use to save the campus energy and money. ​
Many of these buildings have underground systems that are eroding and leaking because of age.​
System Director of Office of Facilities Planning, Endas Vincent, said “the Chilled Water System shouldn’t be working fully until the project is completed.”  He also went on to say that the energy blackout that occurred in the first week of school might have slowed down the work on the new system being built.
“Eventually we will be able to monitor the temperature digitally to manually change the temperature,” said Jones.
Jones later said that the problem will be entirely eradicated by the time the new system is completed.​
Southern University’s campus will be undergoing many changes, which will cause some malfunctions, but the final product will be worth it. It is projected to be fully completed by ​the fall of this year.​
For more information about the project contact the Facility Services Office or Office of Facilities Planning to see designs or hear about the great innovation taking place.