Windows for Wescoe

Work will begin soon on a $3.5-million expansion to the south side of Wescoe (the beach is on the north side) that will provide more than 20,000 square feet of additional office space for the departments of Spanish and Portuguese and history.
 
The addition will enclose the south terrace and add about 80 additional offices plus meeting rooms. Most importantly it will feature rows of windows, something offices in Wescoe lack. The addition will ease congestion throughout the building and provide additional space in the heart of campus.

"It's taking advantage of underutilized space in prime real estate," said Steven Scannell, a'78, a'81, assistant director of Design and Construction Management.
 
Wescoe Hall, a four-story, cast-concrete modernist building named for the late Chancellor Clarke Wescoe, opened in 1973. The Chancellor began lobbying for a centralized humanities building in the 1960s. The original Haworth Hall and Robinson Gymnasium were razed in 1969 to make way for the building, but various funding problems ensued. For two years the site stood empty, and students dubbed the spot "Wescoe Hole," which became a meeting place for, among others, Vietnam War protests.
 

In addition to the renovation, Wescoe is the subject of an epidemiological study. In response to an employee's concerns about five Wescoe Hall occupants, who were diagnosed with brain tumors over the last eight years, KU has contracted John Neuberger, a nationally known epidemiologist in the KU School of Medicine, to conduct a study on whether the hall's physical environment can be linked to health concerns.

"We have no reason to believe there are environmental hazards in Wescoe that could cause serious illness," said Kathleen McCluskey-Fawcett, g'73, PhD'77, senior vice provost. "However, we are exercising an abundance of caution and have asked Dr. Neuberger to do a thorough, epidemiological evaluation. We care about our employees and want a full, objective review. If any significant problem is identified, we will take immediate action."

The study will take place over the next seven months, with results reported to the University in early 2007. Approximately 400 people have offices in the 181,635-square-foot building during an academic year.