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Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Laura Bailon Shiel Hall, a current residence hall located across from the Field House, is to become an academic building for faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Plans have begun to renovate student residence Sheil Hall, converting it into an academic/office building for faculty. The new Sheil Hall will be home to the College of Arts and Sciences, holding 60 to 80 offices for faculty, including a dean's suite. The building will also have half a dozen meeting/conference rooms and about three to six classrooms. "The main purpose for the renovation is basically to provide proper office space for faculty," says Rob DeRose, Vice President for Business and Facilities.

One reason that Sheil Hall was chosen to be renovated is that Lewis University recognizes the historical significance of the building; Sheil is one of the oldest buildings on campus.

"One of the wings in Sheil was actually one of the first buildings on campus," says DeRose. "Based on the age of the hall, it seemed more efficient to turn it into an academic building instead of continually renovating it as a residence hall."

Another reason for the change is the large need for faculty space for meeting rooms, classrooms, labs, and the central location of the building on campus makes it a perfect choice to meet the needs of the faculty.

The renovation of Sheil Hall will progress in multiple phases. The first phase involves renovating the lower south wing of the hall for the sports and exercise sciences and foreign language departments. DeRose says, "Currently the sports and exercise facility share a large office but the desire is to give a full-time facility with private offices so they can have conversations with local colleagues and students in private." A space in this area will be equipped with new computers for the foreign language students to use.

"The first phase is already underway and we hope to have the sports and exercise science and foreign language component done by Easter," explains DeRose. Another phase in the plan is to meet with architects to look at the structure of the building. This step is needed to determine the best uses of the building and what kind of structural renovations will be possible, such where to put and knock down walls, where to build classrooms and offices, where to build elevators, and how to fix the outside and inside of Sheil. "We were already planning on putting new windows, roofs and carpet in," DeRose says.

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