The Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences was relocated from the Zona Luce Building into the Hardin Administration Building Dec. 19. After renovations were made to Hardin during the fall semester, the ag department was able to move into its new home.
Dr. Ed Brokaw, chair for the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, said the department’s transition into their new quarters is, for the most part, complete.
“We’re still finding little things that have to be tweaked, but as far as the move we’re basically moved in,” Brokaw said. “People are still hanging a few things on the walls, that kind of thing, but we’ve pretty well moved into this part. We’re still in the process of moving into the lab house across the street.”
The new environmental science labs are now located in the McDaniel house, next to the ACU/WACU Museum.
In preparation for the ag department’s move into Hardin, renovations were made to the first floor southwest wing. Brokaw said the renovations included creating the faculty office space and redoing the classrooms.
Brokaw said renovations will be made to the Zona Luce Building to prepare it for its new occupant, the School of Nursing.
Brokaw said the new location will benefit the ag department. He said access to good technology, a more “communal” office space, and the new labs will create advantages in space, which will allow room for more students in the classes.
Mandy Scudder, administrative coordinator and degree plan specialist for the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, said the department had been preparing for the move weeks prior to moving day.
“There was a lot of planning ahead of time, because there was not just one office moving, there was a whole department,” Scudder said. “So for weeks leading up to it we were cleaning out, organizing, identifying what we needed, what we used, what we could recycle. Since we’re environmental science we did a lot of recycling.”
Scudder said many helpers from Physical Resources assisted with the move. She said the move from the Zona Luce Building into the new office area in Hardin was completed in two hours. This included setting up the phones and computers, moving classroom furniture and office supplies.
Scudder said at first it was difficult to leave “home” in Zona Luce, but the department decided to “get on the happy wagon” and make it work.
“Over in A&E we say ‘Welcome home.’ We refer to ourselves as a family,” Scudder said. “This is home away from home.”
She said there are many pros about moving into Hardin, including more space, better technology and an increased sense of community. She said the students have received the change well.
“We believe that this is going to be good,” Scudder said. “And we are going to move forward. So far, so good.”
