Faculty members throughout several departments agree that while the current Doudna Fine Arts Center isn’t the only academic building that needs to be replaced, it is, without question, in the worst shape.

The new Doudna Fine Arts Center, projected as a future landmark building on Eastern’s campus, will be a far cry from the dilapidated building the university’s fine arts programs now call home.

Faculty who work in the current Fine Arts Center aren’t shy about pointing out the building’s many deficiencies.

“It’s in horrific shape,” said Jeffrey Lynch, associate dean of the College of Arts and Humanities. He should know, his is one of the many offices crammed into the current building.

The Fine Arts Center not only lacks adequate office space, but is also without the storage and classroom spaces necessary for the programs it houses, which are music, art, theater and the band.

Like many buildings on campus, the current Fine Arts Center also lacks reliable heating and cooling systems, which can make conducting everyday activities a battle for the physical plant staff summoned to fix the various problems.

“When you have pipes exploding in the middle of winter, when you have artists whose work is trashed by falling water -I mean clearly you have a serious problem,” Lynch said.

John Oertling, chair of the theater department said his students simply don’t have enough space to conduct classes or build scenery.

“Whether we’re teaching classes or putting on productions, we’re fighting the building,” he said. “We borrow from music and art in this building and we have classes spread out all over campus.”

Theater isn’t the only cramped department, music, band and art suffer as well.

“We are crowded in this building, there’s no question about that,” Oertling said. “I think you could say that all of our departments are busting at the seams.”

Arts and Humanities Faculty not alone

While Lynch and Oertling both spend their days in the decaying building, they are not the only faculty members who think the current Fine Arts Center is past its prime.

Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs, said in an e-mail response, that during the development of the Campus Master Plan, discussion took place as to which academic building should be replaced first. While he noted that the various building occupants might have different opinions, Cooley rated the current Fine Arts Center as the worst academic building on campus followed by the Physical Science Building and Coleman Hall.

All three buildings were built in two phases. The first section of the Fine Arts Center was constructed in 1958 and phase two was completed in 1972. The Physical Science Building was built in 1938 and the second part was added in 1969. Coleman Hall’s first section was constructed in 1965 and the second addition was finished in 1968.

Gary Aylesworth, who recently stepped down as philosophy department chair, spends his days teaching in Coleman Hall. While he’s not exactly thrilled with the state of that building, or that of the Physical Science building, he agrees that the Fine Arts Center is in the worst shape.

“There’s no question Coleman and the Physical Science Building are bad, but the art center is just as bad if not worse,” he said. “The current arts center is in awfully bad shape. It’s actually physically very dangerous in some areas and there’s no question it needed to be renovated.”

Richard Wandling, chair of the political science department, which is housed in Coleman Hall, agrees that while Coleman Hall and the science building are bad, the Fine Arts Center suffers from more problems.

“Although Coleman Hall needs some major work, its problems are not as severe as the fine arts building and those faced in the existing Physical Sciences and Life Sciences Buildings,” he said in an e-mail response. “I, however, do not wish to downplay any of the problems of the current fine arts building. It indeed has many, ranging from the cramped faculty offices to inadequate classroom space and music practice facilities.”

Alan Baharlou, chair of the geology/geography department said that the fine arts center was chosen to be renovated first because it represented the university’s best chance to acquire funding.

“I really believe under all circumstances, we were quite fortunate to get $45 million to renovate and expand the fine arts center,” he said.

Most expensive project yet

Without adjusting for inflation, the new Doudna Fine Arts Center will be the most expensive project the university has ever undertaken. The total construction cost is $46,333,600, Cooley said. Add to that another $7.5 million for furnishings and equipment when the new center opens in 2005 and the total comes to $53,833,600, or at least $31 million more than the what the renovation to Booth Library cost.

However, the new Fine Arts Center may not remain the university’s most expensive project for long.

Cooley said Eastern has already begun seeking funding for a new $63 million Physical Science Building. The university has requested more than $5 million in planning funds from the Illinois Board of Higher Education for the fiscal year 2003. Cooley also said the $63-million sticker price for a the new Physical Science Building will continue to increase in order to compensate for inflation.

Don’t stop there

Both Wandling and Aylesworth agree that the renovation of Eastern’s academic buildings should stop with the Fine Arts center.

“Of course as a long-time Coleman Hall resident (my 15th year), I am concerned about the lack of evidence of any serious planning for needed Coleman Hall renovations,” Wandling said. “For example, our classrooms generally are cramped and shabby along with being poorly ventilated during weather changes, and our department and faculty need much more office space.”

Aylesworth agrees that the building boom shouldn’t stop with the new Fine Arts Center. He noted that Coleman Hall may in fact be past its useful life, it was among the buildings constructed during the 1960s that were built “rather quickly and cheaply” with the expectation that they would be used for 30 or 40 years and replaced

“We need at least a couple more new buildings,” he said. “They weren’t built to last very long in the first place.”

A landmark building for the new century

Aylesworth said he envisions the new art center as a “landmark building” that will be an asset to the entire campus.

“It’s going to be for everyone, not just the three arts departments,” he said, noting that the new building could host special events that might “help us launch funding initiatives for other things.

Lynch said that under the guidance of design architect Antoine Predock, the new art center will become the type of impressive building that will draw visitors, especially architecture buffs, from throughout the state.

Lynch said that he believes the new Doudna Fine Arts Center will join Old Main as a signature building on Eastern’s campus.

“The signature building on this campus, and rightfully so, is Old Main. That was the new building for the turn of the last century and now we’re going to have a signature building for the turn of this century-a building that looks forward in design.”