Funds raised in the Campaign for Pepperdine are slated to create major changes in the way students will utillize Payson Library and the School of Law.
Payson Library
One of the oldest buildings on campus is about to be brought into the 21st century.
Payson Library is set to see many improvements due to the funding received from the Campaign for Pepperdine to renovate the library, which was originally built as an administration building when the Malibu campus was first constructed. The Campaign for Pepperdine allocated a total of $12.5 million to university libraries.
Plans include an open floor plan on the first floor and a new special collections wing that will allow students to view primary source materials. These upgrades will be joined by an enhanced library entrance, a cafe, additional study rooms, new furniture, a digital discovery experience installation wall and many smaller additions.
The installation wall will act as a visual rendering of the resources the library has to offer, according to Dean of Libraries Mark Roosa. The display will be a touch screen that will allow students to interact with the images to explore what the library has to offer.
Elements like the high-beam ceilings will be retained, but others, such as the staircase, may be altered to add more openness and architectural style. Roosa said they are thinking of incorporating a more sweeping staircase that is not as closed in from the remainder of the building.
“We’ve had such a success with that campaign,” Roosa said. “It’s really made this renovation possible, because we went into the campaign thinking that we could raise some money, but we had no idea that we would be as successful as we’ve been. We’re truly grateful to all of our benefactors who have come alongside us and made significant donations.”
The Student Government Association also pledged $10,000 in funds last year to be put toward the construction of a cafe space. If the cafe makes it into the final renovation plans, SGA will award the money to the library to help cover the cost, according to SGA President Ralph Sampang.
A few of these gifts have already manifested in the forms of the Pluger Reading Room and Robert Barbera information gateway (the library’s entryway). Roosa referred to these improvements as “bookmarks” for future renovations.
Construction is expected to begin sometime within the next fiscal year. Not all details have been solidified, but Roosa said he is hopeful that the projects will be finished in 2017. He said that ideally, the majority of construction will take place over breaks, and parts of the library will be kept open throughout the construction.
“Up until that time though, we’re still going to be doing different things in the space to enhance the student experience,” he said. “Students can expect to see continuous improvement in the way we make the space usable.”
The Academic Center for Excellence, the Great Books room and the Heritage Center will be retained.
“While we’re not expanding the size of the library beyond the footprint, it better utilizes the spaces that we have, and I think it will make it more interesting and more functional,” Roosa said.
School of Law
Pepperdine’s School of Law is anticipating a facelift, spanning from cosmetic changes to structural renovation, according to Danny DeWalt, assistant director of the Parris Professionalism Institute at the School of Law.
The Campaign for Pepperdine, a multi-million dollar fundraiser that concluded in December 2014, allocated $10 million to the renovations, according to Pepperdine’s website.
The first stage of renovations, set to begin in May, will include the creation of additional faculty offices and a better space for law journals, located on the third floor of the Odell McConnell Law Center. DeWalt said they hope to refurbish the library entrance as well as outfit the space with new furniture.
The second stage will be a much larger project, including the complete renovation of the building’s atrium and auditorium. This renovation is anticipated to begin May 2016 and finish in September 2017 if all goes according to plan.
Though the goal is to keep parts of the building open during construction, DeWalt said that in the more complex and long-term renovation, that will not be possible.
“Most of the law school will be unusable, so we’re going to be using a lot of creativity together with the university to figure out how we are going to get through that year of construction,” he said.
The School of Law was dedicated in 1978, and the all-original construction is due for an update, according to DeWalt, who is acting as a liaison between the law school and the university. He said that the renovations are awaited with great excitement.
“We are extremely grateful that the university is generously engaging in renovations at the law school, and we have a fantastic team that’s working on these projects collaboratively,” he said.
Planning for the project began 10 years ago. The team is in the design phase and is working on hiring an architect and modifying the original drawings to meet today’s needs. They hope to have final drawings within the next 12 months.
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