• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

The Look of Technology Coming to Northern State

Posted on: Wednesday, 12 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By Emily Arthur, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Apr. 12--From her office window in the Mewaldt-Jensen Building on the Northern State University campus, Erika Tallman can see the construction going on at the school's technology center.

The majority of the frame has gone up, and before too long, the walls will be going into place. With the warm temperatures over the past week, Gray's Construction Co. of Watertown -- the general contractor on the project -- has pushed into full gear.

"We've had very good luck with the weather," said Tallman, the director of the e-learning center, which is located in Mewaldt-Jensen. "I thought we wouldn't be done until December, but we've made a lot of progress."

The $7 million project, designed by Koch Hazard of Sioux Falls, is now scheduled for a tentative opening date of October. The center is being built as an addition off of the front of Mewaldt-Jensen. The four-story structure will be arc-shaped and covered with mirror-like exterior windows in the front.

"It's really going to be a focal point on this campus," said Tallman, whose office will be relocated to the new center.

When finished, the technology center will house a variety of different features including: a conference room, a centralized help center, video production rooms, computer labs, a cyber lounge in the lobby area, offices for the faculty of the Arts and Sciences Department and an open courtyard complete with a water feature and landscaping.

"Northern has always had an extraordinary amount of technology, but you'd never know from just looking at (the) campus," Tallman said. "All of the buildings have been kept up and the campus is beautiful, but you can't tell how important technology is here."

More expansion possible: Tallman said some of the offices in Mewaldt-Jensen will be moved to the technology center, making room for additional expansion in the e-learning program.

She also believes adding a state-of-the-art technology center will help Northern State recruit students to campus, as well as give some of them part-time jobs.

"I know when we've had tours here to prospective students they've been very excited about what's going on,"Tallman said. "I imagine it will bring people here. When we're doing stuff on campus, that tells people the place is a vital part of our community."

Reporter Emily Arthur; (605) 622-2314 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 314; earthur@aberdeennews.com

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, American News, Aberdeen, S.D.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: American News (Aberdeen, S.D.)

More News in this Category