Nicholls will be undergoing several improvement projects during the summer break. Proposed projects include renovations to the controller’s office and University College and several smaller projects.”We will shortly begin a major renovation to the controller’s office,” Mike Davis, assistant vice president for business affairs for procurement and physical plant operations, said. “It involves reclaiming some space we have on the back side and reconfiguring the controller’s office so it can better meet the needs of both the students and staff that work here.”

The new controller’s office will make use of the old print shop located directly behind it, which has been unused for several years. This renovation has been in the planning stages for seven to eight years, according to Davis, but was never funded because other projects took a higher priority.

The $215,000 renovation to the controller’s office, located on the first floor of Elkins Hall, will begin during the summer break and is expected to be finished by November.

“We will also begin and hope to complete the renovation to University College over the summer,” Davis said. “This will make it a lot easier to be accessed by the students.”

The $77,000 renovation of University College offices, located on the second floor of Elkins Hall, is expected to be finished by the start of classes in the fall.

Building use fees included in tuition will fund both the controller’s office and University College renovation projects.

Although construction will probably not begin during the summer break, according to Davis, the administration is continually working on large projects such as the recreation center, cafeteria renovations and street and parking lot resurfacing.

“There will be assorted smaller projects that will be going on including dormitory repairs, painting projects and preparation for the Manning Passing Academy,” Davis said.

The Manning Passing Academy will take place July 7-10. It is the premier football camp for quarterbacks, wide receivers, running backs and tight ends in the nation.

Maintenance will be repairing the football fields across campus in preparation for the more than 900 high school athletes who will be staying at Nicholls for the camp.

“(The Manning Passing Academy) is very important to us,” Davis said. “It is a very high profile camp. There may be some national coverage, so this is a good time for Nicholls to garner some good publicity. We are putting in the extra effort to make sure the campus is ready.”

Davis said the status of the recreation center at the beginning of the fall semester would depend heavily on if the land has been purchased or not.

“I may know within a month or so where we stand with that,” Davis said. “The designing of the interior of the building continues. We are meeting with the architects on a regular basis and are getting ready to hire an interior designer.”

Davis said a designer for the road and parking resurfacing, which includes the addition of a 300-space student parking lot, would be hired within a few weeks.

“He will be designing and getting the specifications ready for bidding,” Davis said. “Meanwhile, we will be out securing the services of a bond counsel and investment bankers.”

Davis said an architect has already been hired for the cafeteria renovation and is currently working on interior plans. Renovations should begin sometime in the fall.

“All of this takes time, as we bring on board the bond counsels, investment bankers and the designers,” Davis said. “We have to go back before the board, probably in June, to get the final blessings on all three projects.