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Thursday, March 28, 2024
NEWS  |  CAMPUS

Newell Hall to be transformed into study center if Board of Trustees passes measure

<p>&nbsp;The UF Board of Trustees is reviewing a proposal to turn Newell Hall into a bookless study center with digital resources and outlets for plugging in laptops.</p>

 The UF Board of Trustees is reviewing a proposal to turn Newell Hall into a bookless study center with digital resources and outlets for plugging in laptops.

Newell Hall could provide students with relief from crowded libraries if UF’s Board of Trustees approves a proposal for the building’s renovation at its meeting next week.

The measure would transform Newell into a bookless study center with digital resources and areas for students to plug in laptops, UF spokeswoman Janine Sikes said.

Newell, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of UF’s original buildings that hasn’t been updated, Sikes said. The renovation project was introduced in 2009 but was delayed due to lack of funding.

Newell stands across Buckman Drive from Turlington Hall and was previously home to the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, which vacated due to the facility’s old age.

“This will be a perfect retroversion for one of the campus’ original buildings,” she said, adding that the historical nature of the hall would be preserved in the proposed renovation.

The proposed funding is a result of leftover money from the Reitz Union renovation and expansion project, which comes from the Capital Improvement Trust Fund that students pay in tuition, said Student Body President Tj Villamil.

The $2-per-credit-hour fee raised $13 million more than the $20 million needed for the Reitz Union project.

The fund exists specifically for nonacademic buildings on campus, Villamil said. For example, the money has been previously used to remake the Southwest Recreation Center.

Villamil said that according to the 2011 UF Student Experience in the Research University Survey, students cited more study space as “the single, most important thing” that the university could do to improve their undergraduate experiences.

The survey, which is administered to undergraduates, had a 63 percent response rate, according to survey results.

Library crowding is an issue, especially during finals season, said Emily Witt, a forestry and economics junior.

Witt, 20, sat at one of the few open tables at Library West on Wednesday. She usually opts for the Levin College of Law Library because of overcrowding.

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“During finals, it’s not even worth it to come here sometimes,” she said.

Villamil said there will be a student engagement process in the Spring, but he believes students are already supportive of the proposed renovation.

“I think it’s incredible that we’re bringing one of the most historical buildings on campus … to the 21st century,” he said, “that can be used with students in years to come.”

Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org.

 The UF Board of Trustees is reviewing a proposal to turn Newell Hall into a bookless study center with digital resources and outlets for plugging in laptops.

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