After delays caused by Covid, problems with supply chains, and even the weather, significant campus renovations are expected to be completed by the late spring.
Major renovations include the Media Innovation Center, the Duane L. Jones Recital Hall, and the Clark Athletic Fields and Gym.
The original proposal for the Media Innovation Center (MIC) “was submitted as far back as 2016,” said Professor Ozgur Akgun, MIC manager and assistant professor American Studies/Media and Communications. “Because of COVID, for instance, we lost almost two years working on this project.”
“There have many complications,” said Samara Smith, MIC co-director and associate professor American Studies/Media and Communications. “Finding the right vendors and suppliers and dealing with state rules around how awards are allocated can take time.”
With a grant of $1.125 million from the Dormitory Authority of New York State, MIC’s G wing renovation will have a classroom-sized control room and new TV studio equipment and lighting to compare to a professional TV or film studio. As a hub for media and communications learning, the center will have an on-site reception area with a help desk, an equipment check out window, lounge, teaching and meeting spaces. There will also be “a small studio with a flexible teaching lab where students can learn virtual reality and other emerging media, which can also accommodate talks and small screenings,” Smith said.
The renovation “will showcase and promote advancement in media communication arts and fully prepare students for professions in TV and media arts,” said Ray Maggiore, assistant vice president for capital planning, whose dedicated supervision along with Philip Joseph, site representative for capital planning, was essential to the renovation.
“I am excited, it looks really good!” said Smith, who was part of the renovation team with Akgun and professors Laura Chipley and Lisa Payton. “I think it’s going to be such a lovely space for students to gather and there is going to be a hallway where we can showcase Old Westbury alumni and student work.”
In addition, as part of the library’s renovation, a podcasting facility was recently completed with the help of Akgun and Joe Manfredi, station manager, Old Westbury Web Radio and lecturer in the American Studies/Media and Communications Department. It was a part of the last phase of the library’s capital project.
“The Duane L. Jones Recital Hall was reimagined as a state of the art multi-purpose venue that can accommodate speakers, dance, music performances, a catwalk, control booth, with professional visual equipment and acoustics,” Maggiore said. “When finished it will host open houses, events, and showcase opportunities for education in the arts. It will provide a lasting impression for years to come.”
The Maguire Theatre received new seating and carpeting over the past year.
“The Clark athletic fields are being improved from the conditions they were in before the site was used” as a temporary healthcare facility by New York State to combat Covid 19, Maggiore said. “The baseball and softball fields will have all new lighting and scoreboards…The upper and lower soccer fields were regraded for better drainage and are newly sod with an automated sprinkler system.”
The gymnasium and Clark building are being restored to their condition before they were converted for vaccination use.
Additional on-going campus renovations include Atrium renovations to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act whereby six bathroom modifications as well a replacements of all railing on the balconies and stairs are expected to be completed by the late spring; the replacement of the campus main power supply room in the Campus Center, which will be ongoing past the spring of 2023; replacement of the Gate B Roadway, tentatively scheduled for completion by the end of ‘23; and renovation of the Natural Science Building, tentatively scheduled to start in the summer of 2023.
