Phase two of IAST will force Music Dept. to move to a new location

While the news took many Music professors by surprise, most welcomed the move, calling their current facilities "awkard." Music Department professors recall administrative promises of better departmental facilities -- dating back nearly 20 years. But as the second phase of the Institute for Advanced Science and Technology displaces them from their current location, alternative space has not yet been secured, according to Vice President of Facilities Management Art Gravina. And several Music professors said they didn't know the IAST plans would require the department to move. University President Judith Rodin last week announced that the University would proceed with the IAST's planned second phase, including the renovation and use of the Music buildings. The facilities will be used for cognitive and computer science laboratories and classrooms. Gravina said the project would require the renovation of the Morgan Building, the Music Building and the Music Annex -- forcing the Music Department into alternate housing. Although the University has already committed funds to phase two of the IAST, Music Department Undergraduate Chairperson Norman Smith said he has no details about the department's move. But he added that he would welcome a change for the better. "We have totally inadequate facilities, so yes, we'd like to move," Smith said. He added that the department has heard "a large number" of proposals for new music facilities in the last 20 years, but "nothing's happened yet." Gravina said the University hasn't determined where the Music Department will go when renovations on the buildings begin. Some professors, like Music Professor Gene Narmour, said they still believe the Music Department will not have to move. "Phase two is not going forward, and the Music Department is going to stay where it is, to the best of my knowledge," Narmour said. But Narmour, also associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, attested to the department's need for better facilities. According to Narmour, the "awkward" facilities need renovations, especially because they are neither sound-proof nor climate-controlled, and the practice rooms flood easily. "For a department of our rank, they're atrocious facilities," Music Professor Gary Tomlinson said. "I have heard no solid plans as to what's going on," he added. "They haven't been able to come up with a workable plan."