Facility facelift
Old deans’ offices remodeled, new offices
created
By Tyson Trice
staff reporter
About $440,000 was used to create two new deans’ offices and renovate to existing ones, said Larry Garrison, assistant director of facilities planning.
“Nearly
all the deans’ offices have had something done this summer,”
Garrison said. “Each needed a freshening up and a new look to start
the school year.”
The College of Communication now has a new office on the second floor of Moudy Building South and the College of Science and Engineering has a new office on the fifth floor of Sid W. Richardson Building. The new offices required some structural changes, but Garrison said the buildings didn’t lose any classroom space.
“We didn’t lose anything over the shift of carving out spaces,” Garrison said. “We just had to move some things.”
Garrison said he expects almost all renovations to be finished before Oct. 1. Moves and renovations have been difficult for the deans and their staffs, especially their administrative assistants, he said.
“I think it takes a lot of patience for the new deans and the deans’ staff,” Garrison said. “I could go through all of the administrative assistants. They are the ones that had the most patience to get through all of the changes.”
Elisie Berry, administrative assistant to the dean of the College of Fine Arts, said the transition has been challenging.
“You can’t get very organized when you know (the furniture)
won’t be permanent,” Berry said.
Mary L. Volcansek, the new dean of Add Ran College of Humanities and Social
Sciences, still hasn’t completely moved into her new office in Reed
Hall. She is still waiting for new carpet and furniture. Most of her office
belongings, especially books, are in boxes in an office across the hall.
Volcansek said she and her new staff shared the office with Mike McCracken
and his staff before he moved into his new office and assumed the position
of dean of the College of Science and Engineering.
“For a week I had the student assistant desk,” Volcansek said.
“One afternoon everyone had gone to lunch, and an orientation student
came and asked me where a certain building was.”
Volcansek said the incident was amusing because she didn’t know where many of the buildings were herself.
“The nice thing about not having an office was that I could go and meet with the chairs of each department,” Volcansek said. “It’s nice to see where the departments are located and where the facilities are and see how their departments work.”
Tyson Trice
r.t.trice@student.tcu.edu
Accident lands faculty member in hospital
Graves breaks wrist, left leg; will take 6 to
8 weeks to heal
By Matt Jones
staff reporter
A supervisor for facility services is in fair condition at Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital after shattering her wrist and breaking her leg Wednesday night, hospital spokesperson Laura Van Hoosier said.
Ila Graves, 57, said she fell in the faculty parking lot between the Bass Building and Tandy Hall around 11:30 p.m. while helping a co-worker dump trash. She said the fall shattered the bones in her right wrist and also cracked a left leg bone below the knee.
“I was starting to turn around to step away from the ledge when I lost my footing,” Graves said. “It was slick and I just couldn’t catch myself.”
Graves
said she blames no one for her injury.
“It was a freak accident and could have happened to anyone,” she said.
Mary Lucio, the co-worker who was with Graves when she fell, said employees always work in pairs when taking out the trash or lifting heavy objects.
“I told her not to go,” Lucio said. “But, she is our supervisor and wanted to help me.”
Lucio said Graves’ work crew has been working harder lately in order to fill vacancies on their team.
“We usually have a man to do the job,” Lucio said. “But we are short-handed, and we still need to get the same amount of work done.”
Shelton Riley, assistant director of facility services, said he is constantly reminding his crews about safety on the job.
“The last thing we want is for someone to get hurt like this,” Riley said. “We tell them to be careful and to look out for each other as much as possible.”
Glen Payton, assistant director of safety at TCU, said any work-related injury is covered by TCU’s business-insurance plan. Employees are required to fill out a personal injury report before receiving health care coverage or compensation for missed work. Payton said TCU’s workers’ compensation policy is regulated by state laws and covers any staff, faculty or student worker.
Payton said TCU uses a modified duty agreement when allowing an employee to return to work, which informs a worker’s supervisor of any physical restrictions issued by the treating physician.
Riley said he anticipates that Graves will be out of work for six to eight weeks. “She’s the type that as soon as the doctor says she can come back, she will.”
Even with shortages in her team, Graves said she still enjoys her job
and working with her co-workers.
“I’ve got a great crew over there,” she said. “They
work well and work hard together.”
Graves said she has enjoyed her 13 years with TCU. In fact, Graves said she will celebrate her 14th year with the university on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a while, but I’m looking forward to going back.”
Matt Jones
matthewsjones@hotmail.com
Brite Divinity housing to open behind schedule in 2001
Internet, cable services raise price of apartments
By Yvette Herrera
staff reporter
Construction on new housing for Brite Divinity students, expected to have been completed in 12 to 18 months after a groundbreaking ceremony February 1999, will now open in January.
Construction workers Troy Hill and Melvin Fowler said their first deadline of Aug. 15 on Leibrock Village has now been moved to Dec. 1.
But Stan Hagadone, director of admissions at the Brite Divinity School, said there was never a set deadline with contractors and architects.
“When we originally started this, (an August deadline) was our hope,” he said. “As with any part of construction, we expected delays with the city and permits, but we knew Brite students would move in by Spring 2001.”
He said a formal dedication ceremony with donors and trustees will be held Nov. 16.
Brite students who live on campus currently reside in three separate complexes — the Princeton Houses located on Princeton Street, Bellaire North near the football stadium and the Quads by the TCU Bookstore.
Approximately 40 percent of Brite graduate students live on campus, and some have families. Leibrock Village, located between McCart and Sandage avenues, can hold singles, couples and families with no more than two children. Playgrounds will also be part of the new addition for families with small children.
An increase in price will go into effect because of new services, such as Internet and cable connections, being added.
Hagadone said prices for the current apartments range from $200 to $430. At Leibrock there are 56 one- and two-bedroom apartments. A one-bedroom apartment will cost $450, while a two-bedroom apartment will cost $560.
“They all come with fully equipped kitchens and access to TCU’s cable, phone and Internet connections,” Hagadone said.
Leibrock Village will provide a place where all Brite students living on campus can study, eat and watch television together.
“Part of seminary education is building community,” Hagadone said.
The two three-story buildings and the one two-story building in the center of the development are for Brite students. The other apartments are for TCU’s graduate students.
Yvette Herrera
yvebex@yahoo.com