Augustana College is planning renovations to Erickson residence hall during the 2023-2024 school year. A student bulletin sent via email on April 3 contained the initial announcement.

“We listened. We heard. And we’re taking action,” according to the email sent from the college. The email said there is a “good likelihood” that state funding will be available to facilitate renovations, but did not elaborate on the nature of this funding. Kirk Anderson, vice president of administration and chief financial officer, said that Erickson’s infrastructure is key reason to the renovations.

“One of the reasons we’re gravitating towards Erickson is the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system,” Anderson said. “When the building was first constructed, there was no air conditioning.”

Referencing previous renovations, Anderson said that the building’s plumbing has been stressed due to temperature fluctuations.

“All of the pipes were built to carry hot water throughout the building. When air conditioning was added, chilled water was piped through them instead,” Anderson said.

Plumbing issues have been a sore spot for some students as well. Sophomore Savannah Greybill, who lives in Erickson’s B wing, said that her experience has been poor.

“I feel like my wing is the worst compared to all my other friends. Right now we only have hot water, and sometimes, it’ll switch to being ice cold,” Greybill said.

Erickson’s aging infrastructure has affected students in many ways. Greybill said that toilets, drinking fountains and showers have seen disrepair.

“There’s at least one toilet that doesn’t work at all times,” Greybill said. “The water fountain is not cold. A couple of months ago they had two showers shut down.”

The upcoming renovations will mark another significant update since the installation of air conditioning in 1983. The decision to renovate Erickson first, despite the lack of air conditioning in other residence halls, was made on the basis of need, Anderson said.

“We’re always trying to improve on what we have. It’s a question of what we can hold on to for the next three years,” Anderson said. “We don’t think of [other residence halls] as better or worse, just different.”

Renovations are currently slated to begin in the fall of 2023, beginning with the closure of B Wing. The funding will come from a grant and, though the money has not yet been received, Anderson said that the college is confident its request will be approved.

“We feel relatively comfortable estimating five to six million dollars,” Anderson said. “The state of Illinois is excited to reinvest into Augustana and other schools.”

A second bulletin, posted on April 10, provided updates on housing selection for incoming sophomores and juniors. 

“The 11th Ave. Flats will be used as second year housing next year,” the email sent from the college said. “Several houses that we had planned to keep offline will now be available for selection.” 

Though facilitating renovations has caused disruption to the housing selection process, Greybill said that she would have preferred quicker action.

“I wish they would have done it sooner, because living in B wing isn’t great.” Greybill said.