GSE bldg. undergoes overhaul

Renovations to the Graduate School of Education building are currently underway, updating the school's technology and facilities and carving out a new entrance to the building. The construction -- on the building at 37th and Walnut streets -- is expected to be complete in August 2001. Until then, the school's offices have been temporarily relocated to 3440 Market Street. Priced at $8.5 million, the construction project includes complete interior renovation and refurnishing, as well as changes to the exterior. Demolition of the interior began just after Labor Day, said Jerel Wohl, a GSE official supervising the project. A new entryway to the building will also be created on 37th and Walnut. The new GSE building will offer updated classrooms, state-of-the-art technology including video-conferencing systems, more student spaces, a larger computer lab and extended hours access, Wohl said. "The main reason we did it was to serve our students in the 21st century," GSE Dean Susan Fuhrman said. Fuhrman explained that the school was unable to simply upgrade technology without renovation, due to the inefficient use of space in the old construction which limited students. The new GSE building will be able to accommodate all four divisions of the school -- Educational Leadership, Psychology in Education, Language in Education and Higher Education -- together in one location. The school's research facilities will remain separate at 3440 Market Street, which Fuhrman hailed as "progress." Funding will be provided by a combination of gifts and school funds. While the GSE building is under construction, some classes will be held at 3440 Market and others will be at the School of Social Work building at 3701 Locust.

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