Details on Parker and Allison’s replacement are still being worked on, but progress is being made on the development of a new COSAM building.
Faculty say that Parker and Allison are no longer a suitable teaching facility, and the decision has been to demolish the two buildings. “[Parker] doesn’t have the infrastructure for routing more power, obviously there’s a lot more power usage now then there was in the 60s,” said Jack Feminella. “There’s been some flooding issues you know in the basement.”
Feminella is a professor of Biological Sciences for Auburn, and he is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for COSAM.
There is still discussion as to what facilities will hold Parker’s many classrooms while new buildings are being constructed.
Feminella said that plans are still being made for a new building that will serves as a main teaching facility for COSAM. The new building will not only serve as a replacement for Philips and Allison, but also for the soon to be replaced Funchess Hall which holds both COSAM and College of Agriculture classes.
“There’s been a lot discussion about [the new building], this is an effort in COSAM that involves four departments, biological sciences, geosciences, math and statistics, and then physics,” Feminella said.
The physics department is planning to move into the Leech Science Center before Parker and Allison are replaced. Currently, construction is underway for a new addition to Leech that is located right on the corner of Samford and Duncan. Right now, construction is expected to be finished by Oct 6.
“All of the teaching and research that’s currently being done in Allison will be moved into Leech, physics already uses the building, but the new larger footprint will have more classroom and laboratory facilities for all of the physics faculty and their students,” Feminella said. “So that’s one of the first dominos is to create a home for the Allison faculty.”
It has not yet been decided as to where Parker classes will be moved during its demolition. Feminella said that a possible location will be the new ACLC or Academical Classroom and Laboratory Complex. This building will be similar in design to Mell, and will be built between Allison and Dudley.
“Certainly over the next five years the campus is going to change, and the COSAM precinct is really going to change,” Feminella said.
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