Kaitlyn Hughes | news editor

As Jake Rupert began classes for the accelerated second-degree nursing program at Duquesne, he said he arrived at a campus that was seemingly different from the one he toured. Instead, Rupert was greeted by construction projects, detours and long elevator lines.

“It’s such a stressful time. When you are a new student, you want to rely on the campus the way that it should be… it’s disheartening,” he said. “Especially to someone who is new to the school. It’s annoying, and it’s very distracting.”

Both the Fisher Hall Skywalk and the fourth floor of Gumberg Library will be undergoing renovations throughout the first weeks of classes, which is a continuation of summer construction.

A campus-wide email sent on May 12 said that there will be restricted access to Fisher Hall until Aug. 8 because of improvements being made to the Fisher Hall Skywalk and Forbes Avenue entrance, and the addition of a new nursing simulation lab on the sixth floor and a mechanical engineering lab on the second floor.

Another campus-wide email sent on Friday said the skywalk will now be closed throughout the first week of classes.

“While this project was carefully planned, it isn’t unusual for unexpected delays to impact construction timelines. We always manage these discoveries with the primary goal of maintaining quality and safety standards throughout the project. Also, the Aug. 8 date was more of a target point,” said Bill Zilcosky, senior director of facility services and operations. “The good news is that progress continues to move forward, and we’re continuing to work hard to make sure everything is done right, not just fast — and that’s something worth waiting for.”

Fisher Hall can still be accessed from the second- and third-floor entrances on Forbes Avenue.

The construction on the nursing simulation lab and mechanical engineering lab will be ongoing throughout the semester, Zilcosky said. Both projects are on schedule and expected to be completed by the end of December and ready for use in the spring semester.

Nate Wise, a senior biology major and president of the fighting game club, said he did not have any difficulties navigating the new detour to get into the building, but he did notice an uptick in elevator traffic.

“It wasn’t a massive loss,” he said.

But, the closures will affect how the fighting game club will operate over the next semester.

The club usually books classroom 629, but the room will remain closed through December.

Wise said that the room not only provided them with six televisions for gaming, but also easy access from the skywalk.

The construction detours had a bigger impact on Grace Oslecki, a junior physical therapy major.

Because of roadway traffic on Forbes Avenue and more students using the elevators in the Power Center and Fisher Hall, Oslecki had to opt for an earlier commute time from her home in South Side.

“I have to leave an hour early,” she said.

Gumberg changes are still underway
 
With a few final inspections left, the renovations of Gumberg Library are also still in the works.

“There are just so many construction projects and things happened that were out of our control,” said Sara Baron, dean of libraries. “All of these projects are designated for our students to improve the academic experience.”

After inspections are completed, and the floor is cleared for occupancy, the 20 faculty and staff members that were temporarily displaced from their offices will relocate back to the fourth floor.

The renovations include an upgraded study area, a new storage for the Library of Things, an improved layout to the front door and desk, a self-serve grab-and-go, a new research consultation room, relocation of the Curriculum Center from the fifth to fourth floor and new furniture.

“We really want the space to be comfortable for our students,” Baron said. “We want students to use the resources that they might not be able to access otherwise.”

The date of completion has yet to be determined, but Baron said it will happen over the next few weeks.

“We want it to be perfect when we open the front doors,” Baron said.

Other projects on campus include building-wide renovations of Vickroy Hall and the construction of a one-stop service center in the Administration Building.

Kaitlyn Hughes can be reached at hughesk10@duq.edu