The Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy is having a domino effect on campus office space.
As members of the PPS institute pack up to move from the Old Chemistry Building to their new building on Towerview Road, other departments within the School of Arts and Sciences are preparing to regroup in the vacated space.
This summer's move inaugurates an on-going process in which departments will continue to vacate and fill existing academic spaces.
"We have flex space to move people around for the first time in a long time," said Roy Weintraub, acting dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Weintraub said that a final plan will probably never exist.
"The University is always in flux," said John Pearce, University architect. "You try to constantly improve working conditions."
Pearce said that when a department moves from a given space, the space gets evaluated and then possibly renovated based upon its maintenance needs and the needs of those who will fill the space.
"Everything is, in a way, connected to everything else," Weintraub said.
Departments within Arts and Sciences were invited to petition for space toward the end of the fall semester, said Steven Thweatt, director of the facilities design office and assistant dean of facilities for Arts and Sciences.
While departments may see open office space as a free-for-all, administrators have to weigh priorities, Weintraub said.
"As long as units do not have to pay for space themselves, of course everyone wants more space. It is not costless, however, to Arts and Sciences and not costless to the University," Weintraub said.
And there will not be room for everyone. "I'm sure that there are people who'd love to have space in Old Chem that won't get it," Thweatt said.
Several plans exist to fill the Old Chem space. The most likely blueprint would move the department of Germanic languages and literature from the Foreign Languages building, while the geology department and the Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences would be consolidated within Old Chem, Weintraub said. Currently, faculty offices for the two departments are scattered throughout the building.
Planners also intend to keep some space on hold until they assess the needs of new officials, Weintraub said. The University recently named a new provost and will also name a chief information officer and a chief financial officer later this year.
Members of the statistics institute and geology department said they were happy to hear about their potential consolidations.
"At least we'll all be on the same floor," said Patricia Johnson, an administrative assistant in the statistics institute.
James Rolleston, chair of the Germanic languages and literature department, which has faced crowding problems in its current space, said his department is excited about a possible move to Old Chem.
"This is good for us. We face a better future," Rolleston said.
He also said that the move will greatly benefit graduate studies in the department, in addition to helping consolidate the faculty.
The main reason the German department will probably be chosen, however, was not because their needs were so immediate. "We're exactly the right size for the space. It's strictly a practical decision [on the part of University officials]," Rolleston said.
Only limited renovations to the newly opened space will occur this summer, Pearce said, because construction must take place between May 10 and Aug. 23.
Sometime in that period, the public policy institute will complete its move to the new building. Pearce said that the University will receive a certificate of occupancy on July 15, allowing public policy faculty and staff to move in.
"Moving to a brand-new building with beautiful facilities and space is something that people are excited about," said Katharine Kunst, assistant director of the institute.
Kunst said that the new building's advantages outweigh any hassles associated with the move.
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