Provost Update September 10, 2007

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:50:15 -0400
From: Provost@vt.edu
To: Multiple recipients <LISTSERV@LISTSERV.VT.EDU>
Subject: Provost Update September 10, 2007

Monday, September 10, 2007

Colleagues,

On behalf of President Charles Steger, I have convened and will chair an ad hoc task force to develop recommendations for the future use of the seven former classrooms on the second floor front wing of Norris Hall. The task force membership includes faculty, staff, students, and administrators who represent broad university interests and are sensitive to the impact of the April 16 tragedy. The charge to the task force is to seek input regarding potential uses of the specified space in Norris Hall, review proposals, and to make recommendations.

The task force is advisory to President Steger as he prepares to finalize a decision about the allocation of space in Norris Hall.

The amount of assignable space is approximately 4,500 sq. ft. The remainder of Norris Hall (approximately 35,000 sq. ft.) is occupied by the College of Engineering programs, and includes academic and administrative offices, laboratories, storage and support facilities, and computer rooms. The specified rooms will not be reassigned to their former use, nor will they be a site for a public memorial or museum commemorating the April 16 tragedy. The task force will consider issues of scope, cost, impact, programmic relationships, the strategic plan, long-term vision, access, security, etc. in considering proposals. Because the rooms under consideration are contiguous with the other spaces, the infrastructure issues and potential uses must take the impact on the entire building into account.

I am pleased to announce that the task force is accepting pre-proposals at this time (one to two pages with an emphasis on ideas and concepts). We welcome and encourage all ideas and proposals. Fully developed proposals (i.e., architectural renderings, cost estimates, etc.) will be requested selectively after initial reviews. When submitting a pre-proposal, please:

* Provide the scope and programmatic relationships of the project;
* Include a single contact person and contact information (e-mail, phone, address).

Submissions must be postmarked or hand-delivered by September 30, 2007. We have already received a number of informal suggestions and we will contact everyone who has already offered ideas. We will also be sending letters to the families of victims. Fax or e-mail submissions will not be accepted. Please mail submissions to:

Office of the Provost
Virginia Tech
210 Burruss Hall (0132)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Attention: Norris Hall Task Force

Thank you,

Mark G. McNamee
University Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Mark G. McNamee

2007-09-10

Brent Jesiek

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