MICUA

MICUA Matters

Spring 2011

MICUA is requesting $13 million in capital improvement grants from the State to support construction and renovation projects on four member campuses for fiscal 2012. The MICUA member institutions will use the State grants to leverage more than $44 million in private capital investments. As part of a MICUA initiative to reach out to the minority contracting community, all of the MICUA institutions have set goals for minority and local business enterprise participation for these projects. The MICUA colleges and universities have all made energy efficiency a priority in these projects as well. Two of the projects will meet LEED Silver requirements.

“These are excellent academic projects that are well-aligned with the State’s needs,” says MICUA President Tina Bjarekull. “With the State’s support, MICUA member institutions are better able to accommodate enrollment growth, address workforce needs, support a vibrant economy, and provide choice and opportunity for Maryland’s citizens.”

The Johns Hopkins University is seeking a State matching grant of $4 million in order to construct the Brody Learning Commons, a new 42,500 square foot addition to the Milton S. Eisenhower Library (MSEL). The MSEL is the University’s principal research library and the largest in a network of four main libraries at Johns Hopkins. The MSEL collection numbers over 2.6 million volumes and is heavily used by both students and faculty.

The MSEL operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and had an entrance count in 2008-2009 of 970,000 people. It is also open to all current faculty and students from other academic institutions. In 2008-2009 approximately 18,400 people from 15 Maryland institutions of higher education used the MSEL. The library is also frequently utilized by local government departments, such as the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention and the Mayor’s Office of People with Disabilities, as well as federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“The existing facility is overcrowded and provides very little space for students and faculty to collaborate,” says Johns Hopkins President Ronald Daniels. “Students have requested additional and more comfortable spaces that support diverse styles of learning in a flexible way.”

The new facility will provide space for group study, teaching, and research areas for all of the Schools on the Homewood Campus, including the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Whiting School of Engineering, Carey Business School, and School of Education. The new five-story facility will be attached to the MSEL on several floors underground, but will appear as a separate structure for the one level above grade. The total cost for the facility will be $30 million.

The Johns Hopkins Libraries are among the premier academic libraries in Maryland, supporting the broad range of research and teaching that makes Johns Hopkins the largest private employer in the State. The Library’s unique Entrepreneurial Library Program, which will be housed in this new building, generates new business for the State and creates new jobs for librarians and researchers.

Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) plans to renovate the six-story 120,000 square foot Studio Center located at 113-131 West North Avenue in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. The Studio Center is the primary anchor in the Station North Arts & Entertainment District, and its inviting new public face and public spaces will be an even greater draw to the district. The Center operates throughout the year, including the summer, when programs such as the MFA in Studio Practice, MA in Teaching, and other teacher preparation programs take place. The proposed renovation will require $16.3 million. Maryland Institute College of Art is requesting a $4 million capital improvement grant. The renovation of the building entails half the cost of a new building of similar size.

Age and wear have taken a toll on the Studio Center. Severe water damage to the roof and masonry, insufficient insulation, and old, drafty windows contribute to its energy inefficiency. Both the primary HVAC system and the fire safety system were installed over 40 years ago and must be replaced in order to meet today’s code requirements. Accessibility for the disabled is inadequate and must be corrected.

“Now over 100 years old, the former warehouse is the centerpiece of MICA’s plan for advancement and expansion of our graduate programs, which is essential to our continued development as one of the leading visual arts schools in the United States, to our ability to contribute to the State’s professional workforce, and to enhance the economy of Baltimore and the State of Maryland,” says MICA President Fred Lazarus.

MICA’s graduate programs and enrollment have grown at a steady pace since 2000, and are projected to increase by 50 percent over the next seven years. The renovated facility will address workforce shortages in such fields as technology, arts and design, and arts education.

Mount St. Mary’s University is seeking a State matching grant of $2 million to completely renovate the fourth floor of Bradley Hall and a portion of the attic into usable academic support space. Additional classroom and office space is needed, especially in popular disciplines like communications and English—both of which will be housed in Bradley Hall following the renovation. The total project cost will be approximately $5 million.

“The goal is to relocate two academic departments, as well as the University Archives, to the renovated fourth floor of Bradley Hall,” says Mount St. Mary’s President Thomas Powell. “We see this solution as ‘green’ in the sense that we are repurposing current space as opposed to building new space. We potentially plan to convert a portion of unused attic space into space that directly supports our academic mission. This project will also help us to update and improve ADA access for all who use Bradley Hall.”

This historic building—a 72,975 square foot, five-story structure built in 1915—currently houses approximately 60 percent of the University’s offices on its first three floors. The fourth floor has been used as residential space for students. In May 2010, all students were moved to a renovated residence hall, allowing the space to be repurposed.

Academic expansion at the University has created the need for additional classrooms and faculty offices. In order to maximize classroom spaces, the Mount has offered more evening classes in the last five years. Still, the Mount’s participation in Division I athletics makes it difficult to offer additional evening classes because of practice and game times.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the top two skills that employers are looking for are communications skills and research and analytical skills. The Mount’s departments of communications and English address these skills in their major course offerings and in their contributions to the Mount’s core curriculum.

Washington College is requesting a State matching grant of $3 million for the renovation of the 40,000 square foot Clifton M. Miller Library, which attracts 175,000 visitors per year. The College will redesign part of the second floor to create collaborative study areas, in part by moving some books to compact shelving or off-site storage. The total estimated cost for the renovation—which will take place within the building’s existing footprint—is $6.3 million.

With budgetary pressure on public libraries, Miller Library is an increasingly important resource for the County and Eastern Shore. Miller Library is the only Federal Deposit Library for U.S. Government documents between Annapolis and Salisbury University. The Library also has the best genealogy and newspaper collections on early Eastern Shore history and culture.

The renovation follows the College’s success in adapting the layout of the first floor for contemporary student study: a minor renovation in 2005-2007 introduced compact shelving on the ground floor and developed a popular “information commons” on the first floor. Students have requested additional space for group study and this project will provide five new areas for collaborative work. Furthermore, the renovation will bring into the library the full team of experts in Instructional Technology that supports the existing Multimedia Production Center and the Beck Instructional Lab.

“The Library is very heavily used and is the most important facility for studying and engaging students in those aspects of academic work that take place outside of the classroom,” says Washington College President Mitchell Reiss. “On average there are 800 visits to the library each day. It is the premier study and gathering place on campus.”

The Clifton Library was built in 1969 and has had only cosmetic renovations over its lifetime. The renovation will help the environment by replacing an outdated, inefficient HVAC system with a state-of-the-art, environmentally sound geothermal climate control system. The new system will result in substantial energy reduction for the Miller Library at approximately 40 percent and reduce CO2 emissions by 54 percent.