Departments move out of “Minidome” to begin renovations

Southern University will be relocating several departments due to the renovations to the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Among the departments moving will be the Athletic Department, the Office of Financial Aid, Auxiliary Services and the ticket office. The Athletic Department will relocate to Jesse Owens Hall along with the Sports Information Department and the men’s basketball coaches office.
The men’s and women’s basketball team will hold their games in Seymour Gymnasium. Seymour gymnasium will also be the temporary home for the office of the women’s basketball coaches according to Lonnie Wilkinson, associate professor for the School of Architecture.
The Office of Financial Aid will be relocated to Building 122, which is across from J.W. Fisher Hall and next to the nursing school.
Auxiliary Services will move to the Engineering West Building temporarily before it is moved to James Blaine Moore Hall at a later date. The ticket office will be moved off campus to the Bank One building on the corner of Scenic Highway and 77th Avenue.
According to Wilkinson, the phone numbers of each department is expected to stay the same during their temporary stay in their new home.
Construction is slated to start on February 25; no timetable has been set for the expected completion of the renovations to the Minidome. Once renovations are completed, all offices are expected to be moved back to the activity center.
“Every one should be out of the activity center by the 25th of February so we can begin construction,” said Wilkinson.
The relocation of the departments were headed by the Chancellors Office with Wilkinson serving as the “point person” for coordinating all the moves. Ronnie Hill, facilities planner for the Office of Finance and Administration, is in charge of all the construction for the campus.
“The move from the activity center went very smoothly it was all completed within a week,” said Wilkinson.
Wilkinson also stated that this was a major operation because of the number of people in the athletic department.
“The biggest move was the financial aid department because of the enormous amount of records they had stored,”said Wilkinson.
According to Wilkinson, future moves will include the Electrical Engineering Department which is currently in the Army ROTC building and General Services, which is in Moore Hall. Also included in the relocating plans is the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, which will be moving from Baranco Hall to Moore Hall.