COAS moves offices to Owen Hall

Nearly 24 years after the office of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences sought to transition into a newer, renovated building, the office finally moved from Kirkwood Hall to Owen Hall while students were away on spring break.

Before the office of the dean began packing boxes March 8, Jean Robinson, executive associate dean and professor of political science, remembered an Indiana Daily Student article from 1989 that hung in an office, indicating more-than-100-year-old Kirkwood Hall would soon receive much-needed renovations .

“The inside is not accessible, the bathrooms are about sixty years old and the farther you go up in the building, the worse it is,” Robinson, who oversaw the recent transition, said of Kirkwood Hall. “It’s an old building that’s lovely on the outside, but it needs to be renovated.”

The College’s administrative offices have been closed since March 8 but will reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday for students. Faculty and staff can go in on Monday.

Robinson said construction crews have been working on renovating Owen Hall since the fall and will continue doing so after the College officially begins operating from Owen Hall.

Owen Hall, constructed in 1884, was one of the first two buildings on the Bloomington campus. Prior to being renovated to house the College administration, it was home to the University chancellor’s office until it was closed in summer 2011.

Owen Hall has undergone several infrastructural changes including new air-conditioning, heating, floors and an elevator to accommodate students and faculty with disabilities.

Though the interior and infrastructure are experiencing several changes, exterior renovations such as new windows must first be approved by the state, since Owen Hall is an official historic location.

“One of the best things will be the building will be accessible,” Robinson said. “We will no longer have a sign on the door that says ‘this building is not accessible.’”

Seventy three administrative employees previously residing in Kirkwood Hall along with the Office of Advancement in the Von Lee building will move into Owen Hall by Tuesday.

The College Information Technology office will remain in Kirkwood Hall temporarily and move to Weatherly Hall during the summer.

“We were the first school in the University, so it’s neat that we’re in one of the oldest buildings on campus,” Robinson said.

The transition is part of the IU-Bloomington campus master plan established in 2010, which in part seeks to update historic campus buildings including Kirkwood and Owen halls. Robinson said the College of Arts and Sciences will pay for the majority of the moving and renovation costs, along with some funding from the University.

“We will have updated space and we will definitely have an improvement in terms of quality,” Robinson said. “It will be more accessible and modern. And I think it’s really important to us to stay in the center of the campus.”

Kirkwood Hall will undergo renovations after this summer, and the tentative plan will be to house classrooms and possibly smaller to medium-sized department offices, Robinson said.

“There will still be boxes and not everything will be done, like anytime you move into a new space, but everyone will be back at their desk on Monday,” Robinson said.