Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           985/549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
    Date: 11/14/01
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple & Rene Abadie 1

Editors: Photo accompanies release
SLU BREAKS GROUND FOR MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
     HAMMOND -- Wielding ceremonial shovels, Southeastern Louisiana University
administrators, faculty and students joined area legislators, architects and contractors Wednesday
morning (November 14) to launch two major campus construction projects totaling nearly $20
million.
     The back-to-back groundbreaking officially began construction on renovations and
additions to the university's biology building and the Charles E. Cate Teacher Education Center.
It also brought Southeastern's new construction total to more than $65 million over the last
several years. New building projects have included a state-of-the-art classroom and laboratory
building, innovative residential facilities, a student activities center, and an expansion of the War
Memorial Student Union. 
     The Cate Teacher Education Center, said Interim President Randy Moffett, houses "one
of the largest and most successful teacher preparation programs in the state, one that involves all
facets of our academic community."
     "This much-needed facility will only enhance a program of which we are already very
proud," Moffett said.
      The 35,000 square foot addition to the building's south side and renovation of 13,150
existing square feet will provide new state-of-the-art classrooms, teaching labs and a lecture hall
as well as much-needed office space and conference areas for faculty, staff and graduate
assistants.
     Currently, more than 2,200 students are enrolled in Southeastern's education
undergraduate and graduate programs and approximately 500 professional teachers are taking 
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GROUNDBREAKINGS   Add One
courses in a variety of career and knowledge-enhancing non-degree programs.
     The project, designed by Holly and Smith Architects of Hammond and built by Brunt
Construction, will also improve vehicular and pedestrian access and provide for a new
landscaped entry plaza. The projected completion date is late November 2002.
     "We are counting down the days until this groundbreaking culminates in a model facility
where learning takes place at all levels," said Martha Head, interim dean of the College of
Education and Human Development. "Visitors to the Teacher Education Center always remark at
the unique design and function of the building. Future visitors will see that even a fine and
unique facility can grow and improve."
     Nick Norton, head of the Department of Biological Sciences, said the 55,000 square foot
biology building addition and renovation will have a "dramatic effect" on undergraduate and
graduate teaching and research programs.
     "It will allow us to provide state-of-the-art teaching labs, all of them with the latest
computer systems and Internet access," Norton said. "It will also allow us to design research labs
that will expand our research into new areas."
     While the new four-story addition will be devoted to teaching and research labs, Norton
said part of the existing biology building will be extensively renovated to house an animal
research facility that meets the "incredibly strict" guidelines of the National Institute of Health.
The new facility, which will also be utilized by Psychology Department faculty and students,
will attract both new faculty and students, Norton said.
     The biology building design by Crump Wilson and Associates of Baton Rouge also
includes offices for biological sciences faculty who are currently housed in four different
buildings across campus, study facilities, and a roof-top research green house that will expand
the university's botany teaching and research capabilities.
     Polk Construction Company is expected to finish the project by February 2003.   
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsf01.html