Multiple renovations and projects are well underway on campus as Butler University prepares for the 2010 Fall semester.

Among these projects are improvements and additions to the Butler Bowl, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Clowes Memorial Hall and some residence halls, Vice President of Operations Michael Gardner said.

“Improving freshmen housing facilities, science facilities and Hinkle Fieldhouse are the top three priorities,” Gardner said.

The press box and bleachers in the Butler Bowl were newly remodeled and new landscaping was added over the summer.

The Butler Bowl has been relandscaped and remodeled to improve the soil, particularly on the north hill of the bowl where the grass was eroding. This work is still in progress but is hoped to be finished soon, Gardner said.

“It will definitely need to be done for the start of football season in September, but right now we’re scrambling to get it mostly done for an August 28 soccer game,” Gardner said.

In addition to the Butler Bowl, the softball facility was also remodeled. It received a new press box and new bleachers.

The scaffolding work on Hinkle Fieldhouse was also completed in July.

Several other renovations were made around campus over the summer:

The outside of Robertson Hall was re-painted; a new roof was installed on Lilly Hall; offices were remodeled in both the Jordan Hall faculty areas and the Information Technology offices in Holcomb.

In Ross Hall, wireless internet was added to all of the dorm rooms. Schwitzer Hall now has card access.

The Office of Operations has started designing a new performing arts facility and intend to break ground in Spring 2011.

Along with the remodeling and building of new facilities the Board of Trustees also ratified the Master Facilities Plan in May. This created commissions to look into freshman housing and facilities and the possible necessity of additional residence halls and other facilities due to the increased size of the incoming freshmen class.

Vice President of Student Affairs Levester Johnson chaired a specific group to ensure that all service departments are on the same page with regards to the incoming freshmen class.

This group was assembled in order to make sure that Butler creates as positive an experience as possible— be it financially, residentially or academically— for the large freshmen class. In order to create such an experience for all Butler students, more living space was made available.

“Forty beds at the Christian Theological Seminary were offered primarily to sophomores and filled up fairly quickly,” Gardner said.

Extra furniture was also added to the residence halls to create triples in rooms that used to be doubles.

The commissions created by the Master Facilities Plan continue to monitor the issue of space in residence halls and classrooms in order to create the best experience possible for all Butler students.