By Laura Acuff, Opinion Editor

Undergoing final touches and maintenance checks, the Bob and Shirley Hunter Welcome Center should contain all of its new furniture by the end of this week in preparation for a dedication ceremony Feb. 21.

Despite projections that the center would be finished and housing new occupants by Jan. 5, slowed progress over the winter break delayed the move in of several ACU employees to the building, said associate vice president for Administrative Services Kevin Watson.

“We had an opportunity,” Watson said. “But over the holidays, we lost a week or 10 days of work time, just subcontractors not being here, things not getting done, so we weren’t able to meet that Jan. 5 deadline.”

Construction of the center began in Dec. 2007, and Watson said construction on the building will still finish before the contract date in February, a date set for project completion after which the contractor is penalized for incomplete work.

“We’re not there yet,” Watson said. “He’s got time, but we’ll still finish a little bit early but not as early as we thought we were going to. As far as the building being complete, it’s 99.9% complete.”

Overseeing the project from conception to its approaching fulfillment, Watson said he’ll be glad to finish and will be “transitioning out” of the university after the center’s completion. Watson will leave his post after the project is completed to work as the vice president of operations at Texan Healthcare, LLP, a company based in San Antonio that constructs retirement homes.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I’m glad to be able to finish this one, and I think that the school will be blessed by the building,” Watson said. “I hope the things that take place in the building will bless the school, be an honor to God, and I believe that it will be.”

As for the Welcome Center’s namesake, ACU vice president emeritus and former Texas State Representative Bob Hunter, Watson said the building is an appropriate honor.

“Bob’s been a great blessing to the university,” Watson said. “It’s an appropriate acknowledgement of his dedication. It’s certainly a great family, great heritage. Bob is a dedicated servant to the school, to the state. He’s a great Christian man. It’s a good thing to do so I’m glad that they were able to honor Bob and Shirley in that way.”