University Business - September 2008 - (Page 17)

SENSE OF PLACE A Positive Verdict Lanier Professional Development Center at Texas Tech School of Law By Melissa Ezarik A 34,560SQUAREFOOT ADDI tion to the School of Law building at Texas Tech University in Lubbock brings the law school community— and community at large—closer together. • FUNCTION: A high-tech courtroom and large auditorium/classroom are the major components of the Mark and Becky Lanier Professional Development Center. • CHALLENGE: Although the law school already had an enviable reputation—with an excellent bar exam pass rate, several high-proﬁle alumni, and a designation as one of America’s top law schools for “best value”—its circa-1969 building needed some grand spaces. The existing courtroom had just 80 seats and was made of concrete (which is technology upgrade-prohibitive), and no single room could hold an entire law school class at once, says Frank Ramos, assistant dean of administration and ﬁnance at the law school. “We’d have to walk across the campus to the biology or other large lecture hall to talk to all of them.” In addition, the school had outgrown its largest classroom, which seated 120, and hoped to provide more continuing education opportunities. • SOLUTION: The addition has made the law school bigger and better. The 130seat Donald Hunt courtroom includes two large projection screens so audiences on the ﬂoor and in the balcony can watch proceedings. Other high-tech amenities are a document camera, laptop connections, and video players for electronic introduction of evidence. Integrated technology includes videoconferencing capability and digital recording of court proceedings. The Supreme Court of Texas— which had last been at the school a decade ago—heard two cases in the courtroom to inaugurate the addition’s completion. But Order in the court: There’s not a bad seat in the house, with the projection screens that adorn the walls of the new courtroom, one of two major components of the addition. special guests aside, lead designer David Rose from architect SHW Group explains what makes the courtroom shine is this: “It’s a real-world model equipped with current technology that will place Texas Tech at the forefront of law schools and allow students to hone their skills in the most realistic environment.” Connected by a new convocation/foyer space, the addition’s other main feature is a 300-seat auditorium-classroom with projection screen capable of hosting larger continuing education events. That’s something alumni could appreciate, as they got tours of the in-progress addition—and later opened their wallets to donate a total of more than $1 million for upkeep of the building. As for prospective students, Ramos says, “It’s been a wonderful recruitment tool.” • COST: $13.6 million (including $6 million from law school grad Mark Lanier ’84 and his wife Becky, a Texas Tech grad) • COMPLETED: April 2008 • PROJECT TEAM: SHW Group, Dallas, architect; Vaughn Construction, Houston, general contractor. Breaking Ground: Other Places • CONSTRUCTION OF A $44 MILLION APARTMENT COMPLEX AT SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY AT NEW ORLEANS. Since post-Katrina ﬂoodwaters savaged its campus in 2005, the university has operated in trailers located in front of the lakeside tract to be developed, which is twice as large—and on higher ground—than SUNO’s original campus. With 227,000 square feet for students and faculty, the housing will be the ﬁrst residences for the state-run institution. Expected completion for phase one (approximately 400 beds) is fall of 2009 and phase two (another 300 beds) is a year later. • RENOVATION OF THE KIRNER-JOHNSON BUILDING AT HAMILTON COLLEGE (N.Y.). Referred to as “the equivalent of an overworked multitasker on the verge of a nervous breakdown,” the circa 1968 building houses two academic departments, the centers for writing and oral communication, a public affairs center, the dean of student’s ofﬁce, and the registrar’s ofﬁce. A just-completed addition brought new classrooms, a place for the social sciences to reside together, and gathering spaces. The renovation of existing space, on which the addition was built, has an expected completion of June 2009, for a total project cost of $23 million. universitybusiness.com 17 | September 2008 http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - September 2008

University Business - September 2008
Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
A Virtual Visit Welcome
Development Directors Speak Out
NACUBO in the Windy City
Facilities Focus
Money Matters
Financial Aid
Endowment Management
Marketing
What's New
End Note

University Business - September 2008