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October is the month that has caused me to take a step back and reflect. I am in awe of the demolition of my old friend Platz-Mortimore. Most of the interior walls have now come down. Along with many of the walls the wiring, plumbing, electrical and duct work have also gone.
The great science and math hall now stands as an empty shell. If the walls could talk I wonder what memories they would share of pain, sadness, tension, excitement, relief, jubilation and joy!
I can only imagine the number of students that have graced these classrooms, labs and hallways: the students that have gone on to become physicians, dentists, veterinarians, professors, teachers, scientists, lawyers, moms and dads. Many of the alumni at Homecoming this year shared with me their loss as well as the excitement about the new building and what it will become for their children and grandchildren.
I fondly remember the wonderful professors, some of which I have only heard the stories of, and others that molded my life and career. The professors who have also graced these classrooms, labs and hallways, have guided and inspired those students. Platz and Mortimore, Goode, Graybill, Hawley, Ramsey, Bolingbroke, Oiler, Edwards, Mortimore, Shaw, Steele, Hartwig, Emslie and all the others who were part of our lives.
As in ancient mythology, from the ashes shall raise a Phoenix fresh and new.
I can only imagine and dream of what these new halls, classrooms and labs will create and become for the students of the future. I wonder as well about the stories that these new walls will tell. If you have questions that I might be able to answer please feel free to contact me at 641-784-5281 or pratt@graceland.edu.
As mentioned last month the asbestos abatement began and still continues. I am told that they should be done in the next couple of weeks. The demolition crew is following them down the hallowed halls of Platz-Mortimore.
The first part of the demolition began in the basement where the biotechniques, electron microscope, analytical, student research and microbiology labs were located. There is also the mechanical room. The mechanical room, micro lab and student research lab are now one large room. All the walls dividing them have been removed. The walls separating the electron microscope from the biotechniques lab are gone. It was in the hallway outside of the micro lab that the heart was discovered that had been etched into the concrete many years ago.
The demolition of the upstairs then began. The walls between 101, 102, and 103 came down. These are the rooms closest to Zimmerman if that helps orient you. Michelle Mohlers (Division Office), Dan Pratt's (Division Chair), Steve Murdocks (Math), Maggie Yu's (Comp Sci) and Jim Jones' (Comp Sci) offices were the next to go. This is now one very large open space.
For me the most remarkable part of the demolition was removal of the front wall of room 146. This was the large classroom with the stadium seating. There will be pictures of these transformations in the gallery in the following months.
On the creation, building, synthesizing side of life the North Science Hall is also going through an extreme makeover. We are now in our offices with phones, data ports, locks and furniture. The three biology labs are set up and ready for classes. The two chemistry labs are still in need of work which will be finished in the next two weeks. Lastly the walkway is near completion which will connect the North Science Hall to the rest of campus. There will also be a ramp so we will be wheelchair accessible.
On a lighter note a group of us were thinking of ways to keep our students connected and to let them know how important it is that they are a part of our program. The first great idea is a t-shirt created by Brad Mercer (Chemistry) that on the front says "Where in the world is the North Science Hall?" On the back is a map that directs them to the North Science Hall. There will also be a picnic on Tuesday the 9th for all of our students that will be taking classes in the North Science Hall.
Lastly we have been asked about the most bizarre item found during the clean-out. One would be a 5 gallon bucket which contained a very large armadillo. The second was a note from Bruce Graybill found in a drawer stating "do not remove." We really have respected Bruce's wishes. He retired 14 years ago.
If you have questions that I might be able to answer please feel free to contact me at 641-784-5281 or pratt@graceland.edu.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Pratt, Ph.D.
Chair, Division of Science and Math
Associate Professor of Chemistry
Greetings from Graceland's Lamoni Campus:
It has been a while since I updated you all about progress being made with remodeling the Platz-Mortimore Science Building, and there has been significant progress. We weathered a powerful summer storm (10 inches of rain in one day) and there has been a whirlwind of activity on our usually quiet and calm summertime campus.
Let me begin with the packing. During the last two weeks of class many of the faculty utilized their students to help with the initial stages of packing. The chemistry, biology, physics and computer science students are one of the unsung groups that made a huge contribution to the packing. I will be forever grateful for their help. Many of them had multiple labs and therefore had the opportunity to help pack many labs. Although there were times that they were not excited about packing, they still pulled through and did their very best.
Following our last faculty meeting we continued the packing. Some of us were there for 3-4 weeks to finish off the mammoth task. Bob Kelly and Dennis Core of Facility Services coordinated the student workers who were invaluable. When it was done on June 15th, all of the chemicals, glassware, instruments, bones, lab specimens, plants, fossils, chairs, benches and blackboards were gone. This also included a 300 pound electromagnet. Thank goodness we had some of the linemen from the football team.
The next phase which was going concurrently with the pack was the demolition. The student workers were amazing in the amount of lumber, plumbing, cable and trash they removed from the building. All of the benches in the respective labs were disconnected from gas, water, air and electrical lines. The benches were then removed and taken to storage. The stadium seating in the large classroom (Room 146) was slowly removed along with the platform in Room 119. It is really amazing to see this "Extreme Makeover" take place.
Following our rapid exit from the building the asbestos abatement began. Demolition has now begun on the interior walls.
Crews have also been hard at work on the North Science Building where we anticipate moving into our new offices on August 14, and into labs later in the month.
I cannot thank all involved enough for their hard work. Without their efforts this would still be a dream and not the reality that it is becoming. This is a remarkable experience that I feel honored to be a part of.
If you have questions that I might be able to answer please feel free to contact me at 641-784-5281 or pratt@graceland.edu.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Pratt, Ph.D.
July 2008 - Gustav A. Platz and Roy H. Mortimore would be proud indeed of the metamorphosis now taking place within the hallowed halls of their namesake, Platz-Mortimore Science Hall. Graceland's Board of Trustees weighed many options before recently concluding that a complete renovation of Platz-Mortimore - a total makeover - will bequeath to our students a ‘state-of-the-sciences' facility.
The one-on-one, personalized attention science, mathematics and technology students receive at Graceland today from our talented faculty - as yesteryears' students gleaned from professors like Platz and Mortimore and so many others - will now work in tandem within a best-in-the-Midwest sciences' showplace.
The creatively transformed building will be called the Resch Science and Technology Hall to honor Richard J. "Dick" Resch and his family. Resch recently provided a $3 million capstone gift which, united with funds raised during the Graceland Forever Capital Campaign, will provide superb infrastructure and industry-standard equipment, the winning mix to attract outstanding students and exceptional faculty. This historic commitment to academic excellence will lift Graceland to the private-university pinnacle in study of the sciences.
Dick Resch is a 1958 pre-engineering graduate who has good memories of his classes in what was then the fairly-new Platz-Mortimore Science Hall. He would like his family to be honored also with the building's naming. His deceased parents were both Graceland graduates: Clifton Resch '33 and Lois Hatch '32 Resch. His grandmother, Vinnie Rudd, was a House Mother in the very early years of the Independence, MO Sanitarium and Hospital Diploma School of Nursing.
Dick is president and CEO of KI, an industry-leading, award-winning furniture manufacturer with 3,000 employees worldwide. You'll find KI furniture in GU's Helene Center for the Visual Arts and it will adorn Resch Hall. To say that Dick is a self-made man is a true understatement. At age 37 he put everything he had on the line and managed a leveraged buyout of KI (then Kreuger Metal Products). Since then he has always eyed the ‘long view,' never looking back. Fiscal discipline, worker education and community responsibility have been his life-long guideposts.
Dick last visited GU for Homecoming 2003 when he received our most prestigious recognition, the Distinguished Service Award. Homecoming 2008 will mark Dick's 50th Honor Year Class reunion and he plans to be back on "the Hill."
A donor wall of fame is to adorn the beautiful, high-glass lobby of Resch Hall, along with the existing bronze plaque honoring Professors Platz and Mortimore. So many donors, with gifts large and small, have made Resch Hall possible. Even the 2008 graduating class donated nearly $1,500 for student lounge furnishings.
That brings us to the building itself and what is going on right now. Newly-appointed Director of Facility Services Kurt Remmenga, Grounds Chief Bob Kelly and their crews of employees and 20 student workers began May 19th, the day after Commencement, and in less than a month they removed everything from the building except the walls. It will now be the work of contractor J.E. Dunn to transform architectural firm Gould Evan's design, shooting for the expected move-in date of fall 2009.
Science faculty members heroically packed up their office and lab equipment and they have helped with the moves to temporary quarters in the basement of the Frederick Madison Smith Library (Computer Science and Information Technology), Zimmermann Hall (Mathematics) and the ‘North Science Hall,' a former group home just north of campus (Chemistry and Biology.) Huge amounts of furniture and equipment have been stored in a building downtown Lamoni owned by GU Board Chair Ken McClain. Academic year 2008-09 science classes held around the Lamoni campus will be a supreme challenge, but according to Science and Math Division Chair Dan Pratt, "We are up to it. Faculty camaraderie has been inspiring." Pratt said faculty members are "focusing on making this a great year for students, despite the obvious hardships. And, my colleagues are very excited about moving into Resch Hall next year."
The transformed building will be a marvel of planning (faculty played an integral role), designing and engineering. Everything - wiring, plumbing, A/C and heating - will be removed. "Alumni will not recognize the building," said Remmenga, "inside or out. Absolutely everything will be new!" Indeed, the sleek, futuristic building is going to take you by surprise. You can take a peek at Homecoming this October but it will take a year from then for the total makeover.
A significant gift from Dick Resch in 2002 brought to life a long-sought arena in Green Bay, now home to the Green Bay Gamblers hockey team, the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team and myriad entertainment events. The beautiful, two-story, glass-front edifice is truly an awesome sight. It is named the Resch Center. Dick and his wife Sharon live in Green Bay.
When Dick is back for Homecoming he wants to take a look at Platz-Mortimore and envision the new Resch Hall. If you see the magnificent Resch Center in Green Bay, then peek at the architect's rendition of Resch Hall at GU, there are instant similarities, like the imposing glass fronts. "It's the contemporary style of architecture I like," Dick said. "There will be lots of light. Besides the beauty it will cut down on power use." KI is a leader among manufacturing giants in global support of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for construction.
An atrium lobby in Resch Hall will lead you down a row of spacious, glass-front faculty offices. "This will promote great collegiality," Pratt says proudly. Classrooms and labs will be ultra modern. There will be student lounges with an internet-café feel. Special ID cards will provide students 24/7 access to the building. Ackerley Scholars will explore the Computer Science world through technologically-amazing ‘StarLine' electrical conduit. Airflow and ventilation are to be critical priorities, says Remmenga, and lab airflow will operate through separate systems. Safe, functional, inviting and beautiful...there is too much to write to describe fully the tremendous details of what Resch Hall will offer our students and faculty. In short, it will offer them a very bright future!
Chair, Division of Science and Math
Associate Professor of Chemistry
