By Nedal Ahmed

Student Correspondent

Over a span of 16 months, Central Park Campus, the college's oldest campus, will undergo improvements, renovations and additions.

The construction work, which began in August, is making noticeable progress as the campus moves towards more modernization and efficiency.

Dr. Thom Chesney, vice president and provost, said that the Central Park Campus construction project was as much a necessity as an improvement.

"The college is very smart when it comes to monitoring the needs of its campuses and funding goes to the areas of highest priority," he said. "Central Park was a critical point in those priorities. It was definitely a need."

As the work is underway, Dr. Chesney continues to work with Vice President of Administration Ralph Hall and Hunt Construction to ensure that the phasing of the project is done as smoothly as possible.

"What we do as a team ensures that as the construction goes on outside and inside of the campus, we have as few disruptions to instruction and campus services," Dr. Chesney said. "What you don't want is something that interferes with what we're doing now as we try to improve."

Some of the modifications and detours that have occurred as a result of the project include the relocation of faculty offices, the closing of certain classrooms and the need to shut off power or water, which the campus does at night and on weekends to minimize disruption. Through all this, Dr. Chesney takes an approach that he calls “TIPI”: Temporary = Inconvenience, Permanent Improvement.

"If we stay focused, and if we keep our eyes on the prize, that helps on days when we've been displaced from space we'd like to work in or put in one that's a little bit noisier or where other stressors interfere; it helps to ameliorate those [factors by looking forward]," he said. "We're ready to post some visuals around campus so people can be reminded of that. When people start to see a building become three-dimensional, it becomes very encouraging and inspiring."

Right now, students, faculty, staff and community members can see a webcam's view of the construction going on at the campus. They can also view the most recent presentations made to the Board of Trustees.

The new library, which will be a 73,000-square-foot, Jeffersonian-style edifice is among several improvements the project will bring to Central Park, as well as a new space for student development and a bookstore of about 20,000 square feet, along with a parking garage, a grassy quadrangle and a clock tower. Work on a bridge over Jean's Creek is nearly completed, which will allow students and faculty easier access to the shops and eateries that are adjacent to the campus. The surgical tech lab is already completed.

"As an academic leader, I am excited about the library," Dr. Chesney said. "We'll have a real showcase. It's going to be a beautiful facility, wonderful for students and the community. It will also house classrooms, which will allow students to take classes right around the library and its resources."

Dr. Chesney says progress is on track.

"[The construction project] will help us become an even more comprehensive campus, and the addition of some science labs that we desperately need will allow us to offer classes like chemistry that aren't currently offered," Dr. Chesney said." We can also expand general education and transfer offerings.

"More students in the McKinney area can get most, if not all, of their classes at Central Park instead of traveling to other campuses, which is good with the rising gas prices and will also reduce some of the burden throughout our other campuses, allowing them room to grow."