University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Search
Search
News
Multimedia
Sports
Classifieds
Opinion
Subscribe
Entertainment
Send a Tip
Podcasts
Donate
In-Depth

Subscribeto our newsletter

Minnesota Daily Logo

Wednesday, February 20, 2019 Print Edition

Donate

  •       
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Classifieds
  • Special Issues
  • Send a Tip
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Podcasts
  • Classifieds
  • Special Issues
  • Send a Tip
Search

Subscribe

The independent news source for the University of Minnesota campus, now only a click away. Subscribe to the Minnesota Daily's e-newsletter for full sports coverage, updates from the newsroom, and a pick of the week's top features.

Minnesota Daily Newsletter

Fill out my online form.

Donate to the Minnesota Daily!

The Minnesota Daily has been training student journalists and serving the University of Minnesota community since 1900. With your help, we will continue to produce award-winning journalism and provide excellent training for students in all areas of news production. We collect donations through GiveMN; please click below and donate today!

MINNESOTA DAILY | GiveMN


6/1/2018, 12:30am

MN State Legislature's bonding bill funds Pillsbury Hall

Several University of Minnesota faculty express concern over partial Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement allocations, despite funding for Pillsbury Hall renovations.

By Helen Sabrowsky
MN State Legislature's bonding bill funds Pillsbury Hall
Easton Green

A view of Pillsbury Hall on Monday, May 28, 2018. Pillsbury Hall will be the new home for the English department due to funding from the bonding bill.

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Mail
  • Print

While the University of Minnesota's Pillsbury Hall will receive renovations following the passage of the bonding bill on Wednesday, the Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement was not fully funded.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bonding bill after it passed the Minnesota State Legislature last week. In the bonding bill, the University received around $79 million of its original $238.5 million capital request. 

The bill allocated roughly a fifth of the University's HEAPR request, as well as full funding for Pillsbury Hall and Glensheen Mansion renewal projects.

Once renovated, Pillsbury Hall will house the University’s English department, a move the school has wanted for several decades.

The University will receive $24 million in state funding for Pillsbury Hall and plans to spend $12 million of University resources to complete the renovation.

While Pillsbury Hall’s exterior “shell” was updated a few years ago, the interior of the building needs to be almost completely renovated, Vice President of University Services Mike Berthelsen said.

“There isn’t anything in the building that doesn’t need to be addressed,” Berthelsen said. “It will be like a new building inside of a historic shell.”

Without a central location, the English department currently uses spaces scattered throughout campus.

“English is the heart of the humanities at the [University] and to have a building rather than to be squatters in somebody else’s buildings would make a huge difference,” said Julie Schumacher, a professor of creative writing at the University.

Securing funding for Pillsbury Hall has been an uphill battle, she said.

Easton Green

A view of Pillsbury Hall on Monday, May 28, 2018. Pillsbury Hall will be the new home for the English department due to funding from the bonding bill.

“For years there were faculty working very hard to get this to happen and some of us wondered if it would ever happen,” Schumacher said. “Now that it’s pretty close we’re all biting our lips and hoping this actually happens.”

While the bonding bill addresses some expensive projects like Pillsbury Hall, the University still lacks sufficient funding for key infrastructure needs, Berthelsen said. 

The University received $45 million of its original HEAPR request. This partial allocation will increase the University’s deferred capital maintenance over the next 10 years, which currently totals about $4.2 billion,  Berthelsen said.

“We will be able to make some important investments in some critical spaces, but in total the overall campus health will continue to diminish,” Berthelsen said. 

The University needs between $150 million to $250 million a year to maintain facilities, Berthelsen said. He added that over 8 million of the University’s 29 million square feet across its five campuses is in poor or critical condition. 

While the University will be able to finish some HEAPR projects like the Andrew C. Boss Laboratory in St. Paul and the Field House, a variety of other buildings and maintenance projects will have to wait until additional funding is secured, Berthelsen said.

Rep. Jennifer Schultz, DFL-Duluth, an economics professor at University of Minnesota-Duluth, said she was disappointed by the amount of HEAPR funding the University received.

The Legislature allocated $8 million in HEAPR funding to the Duluth campus, which is not enough funding to cover a single project on the school’s priority list, she said. 

Satellite campuses in the University system, like the Duluth campus, have also faced issues with aging and outdated infrastructure. Some classes held in buildings with no ventilation or air-conditioning reached temperatures up to 90 degrees during the school year, forcing faculty to cancel class, Schultz said.

Share



Related Stories

Passersby walk next to Coffman Union on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018. 

Report recommends renaming four buildings

By Jake Steinberg

Nael Banat leads University Human Resources employees in a pre-shift stretch on Friday, Feb. 15. The program was started by Banat and fellow graduate student Andrea Santi as part of their Kinesiology studies.

Early-morning stretch program aids UMN staff

By Norah Kleven

The University of Minnesota Law School is seen on Tuesday, June 5.

Rising enrollment, applications a good sign for Law School

By Austen Macalus


The Minnesota Daily welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.


Editor's Picks


Last Updated 13 hours ago

Early-morning stretch program aids UMN staff

By Norah Kleven

The program aims to help University faculty with physically demanding jobs stretch to prevent injury.


Last Updated 13 hours ago

Rising enrollment, applications a good sign for Law School


Last Updated 13 hours ago

UMN researchers use stalagmites to gauge climate change


2/18/2019, 10:57pm

Community gathers to honor West Bank music icon


Podcasts


2/13/2019, 11:20pm

Episode 19: Connecting with youth in Cedar-Riverside


2/7/2019, 12:17am

Episode 18: The bittersweet life of UMN sugar babies


1/31/2019, 9:12am

In the Know: Episode 17


Minnesota Daily Logo To Homepage
  • About
  • Jobs
  • Contact
  • Archives
  • Advertise
  • Distribution

All Rights Reserved

© Copyright 2019 Minnesota Daily

Powered by Solutions by The State News.