Posted by William Nunnelley on 2005-05-11

Samford University will begin work this summer on four major projects announced recently as part of the Samford Promise multiyear campus improvement plan begun in 2004. The Samford Board of Trustees approved the latest measures during its spring meeting April 14.

The improvements scheduled for the summer of 2005 include:

• A synthetic playing surface for Seibert Stadium. Sporturf of Dalton, Ga., was selected to install the turf that will enable Samford's football team to use the stadium for its entire practice schedule as well as games. Completion of the $1 million project is scheduled before Aug. 1.

"This turf system was selected after much research by Football Coach Bill Gray and our administration because it will allow the greatest safety and durability for our student-athletes," said Samford Athletics Director Bob Roller. "It will provide a beautiful year-round look to highlight our athletics complex. Our team will be excited to return this fall to break in this new turf."

The turf installation will free up Samford's existing football practice field to become the site of a new tennis center, and the relocation of the tennis center in turn will provide part of the space needed for the new $25 million arena/fitness center announced in April.

• A new surface parking lot for 320 cars. Construction of a functional and attractive parking lot south of Seibert Stadium will begin this summer and be completed during the early fall semester. The project will cost $1 million.

• Installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for Robinson Hall law building. The home of Cumberland School of Law-which opened in 1962 and was expanded during the late 1970s-will receive an efficient new HVAC system at a cost of $3.2 million. The massive undertaking will require law offices and classrooms to be relocated for the summer to Brooks and Russell halls and the Lucille Stewart Beeson Law Library. The building will be cleared for construction May 12-13, with project completion set no later than Aug. 15.

• Construction of a new heating plant. The first of three new heating plants to be installed in various quadrants of the campus, this project coincides with the improvements to Robinson Hall and is necessary for the proper functioning of the campus-wide HVAC system. Total cost of the three plants will be $10 million.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.