Posted by Philip Poole on 2011-01-04

The long holiday break did not stop construction projects from proceeding around the Samford University campus.

The newest project is an addition and renovation on John D. Pittman Hall. As the campus closed for the holidays, fences went up around the residence facility in anticipation of an addition and significant renovations that are scheduled for completion by the fall 2011 semester.  As part of the project, the health and counseling services center will be relocated from the first floor of Pittman Hall to renovated space in F. Page Seibert Hall.

The addition and renovation will add 56 beds to the university’s available inventory as it works to increase undergraduate student enrollment, according to Sarah C. Latham, Samford’s vice president for operations and planning. Plans also call for complete renovation of bathrooms in the existing suites.

Latham said the Pittman Hall project would require some traffic pattern adjustments during the process. Signs will direct vehicle and pedestrian traffic. A new sidewalk has been added along Montague Drive adjacent to Pittman Hall as part of the project. Tying the addition into the current building will not happen until after the spring semester ends, she added.

The university’s new soccer and track stadium is on schedule for a spring completion, Latham said. Grandstands and press box are in place, and work continues on the support facility and track. The stadium is located across Lakeshore Drive from the main campus. Samford is scheduled to host the Southern Conference outdoor track and field championships in late April at the new stadium.

Work is nearing completion on a reclamation project along Shades Creek near Samford’s intramural fields. Creek banks along the Shades Creek/Lakeshore greenway are being rebuilt to impede further erosion. Additional work is scheduled during the spring and summer, Latham said, to add sand volleyball courts, picnic areas and other enhancements as part of an expanded outdoor recreation area.

Other projects are scheduled to begin later this year, Latham added, including bathroom renovations in Lena Vail Davis and Mamie Mell Smith Halls and a new parking lot near West Campus residence facilities.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.