By KRISTEN KIRTLEY
Assistant Editor
The Cunningham Hall renovations, the outdoor classroom and mall are the projects the staff of Northwestern have been recently working on.
“When we did the remodel of Cunningham Hall last summer, all the doors were back-ordered from the factory, so we couldn’t have those installed until this summer,” said Dr. David Pecha, executive vice president of Northwestern.
The vendor installed the doors, but there are still some minor adjustments being done to the hinges and frames.
Pecha said the door adjustments should be the last part of the Cunningham Hall renovation.
“As far as the mall construction project, another stretch of concrete has been added to match what was done last fall,” Pecha said. “It has been stained and sealed.”
Pecha said one of the earlier visions of the mall area involved installing a fountain, but they were never able to find a donor.
Pecha said that the area in front of the library and the education building is the next phase they’re focusing on.
They plan to knock out the old planters and pull out the sidewalk that is breaking and crumbling.
After that, they will go back with a stretch of sidewalk that is the same length and shape from the student center down to the education building, and then put grass where the planters were.
“Our goal is to clean up that entire space,” Pecha said.
Pecha explained that the outdoor classroom was former president Janet Cunningham’s idea, and that it was discussed before she retired.
He said higher education started talking about outdoor spaces when the campus shut down due to COVID-19.
An architect has prepared plans for the outdoor classroom, and a public construction bid was done, but no vendors bid on the project.
Pecha noted this is the first time in his 17 years in his current position here that a project has not been bid on.
After the project failed to get a bid, Northwestern worked with the university attorney to determine what the next step would be.
A vendor reached out that was interested in the project, but didn’t have time to put a bid packet together.
“I think this will allow us to do a scaled-back version of the project to start with to at least get some concrete, steps and surface down on that space, rather than the soil that we’re seeing right now,” Pecha said.
The outdoor classroom will be located across from the south side of the student center, next to the science building.
Steps will be going up to where the flat surface will be, so people will have places to sit, meet or have an outdoor gathering.
Pecha said the plan also calls for installing an awning with a partial covering.
Pecha said another vision for the outdoor classroom is a Founders Plaza, which will have plaques that show the history and earlier contributors to the university.
“The history of the university is a neat story to tell,” Pecha said.
