The Nursing Education Building will undergo major renovations starting this December, kicking off the first phase of a wider plan to revamp the whole edifice.
With a price tag of $8.15 million, the first phase of the project will concentrate on the building's first floor, with hopes to open the area to students and faculty by December 2005.
The project's plans for the first phase were approved this past Thursday at the University Board of Trustees meeting after passing the examination of the Capital Council, overseen by University President Judith Rodin.
The renovations will give the Nursing Building -- located at 420 Guardian Drive -- a wide array of innovative features.
"The scope of the project is to give the building a new plaza, a new lobby at the main entrance, new staircases, a new Osler Circle entrance on the south side of the building, a new cafe, new finishes in the auditorium, as well as a possibility for new office suites for admissions and student services of the Nursing School," said Mark Wilson, University Managing Director of Design and Construction Management.
The new lobby will be at a lower level, so the elevators will be updated to accommodate the difference. The renovations will also "give a wonderful new front door along the East Service Drive behind the Johnson Building," Wilson added.
The idea for renovations was initially launched by Nursing School Dean Afaf Meleis, who wanted to bring the building up to par with the school's worldwide reputation for excellence.
"It all started with a vision by the dean that the school has accomplished tremendous growth, but the building had not received significant renovations in 20 years," Real Estate and Facilities Services Vice President Omar Blaik said.
"The building does not represent the visibility of the faculty nationally," Meleis said. "The student services offices and resources are not visible and accessible to students applying or to students who use them. ... Now access to student services will be on the street floor."
The feasibility study for the project was done about a year ago, but fundraising efforts are still being carried on.
"Our board has been unbelievable for leadership pledges," Development and Alumni Relations Associate Dean Wylie Thomas said.
The development office and the Nursing School's Board of Overseers also contributed to the fundraising efforts.
While it does not have a set timetable yet, the second phase of the renovations will update the remaining classrooms and the faculty research space. The Nursing School is foreseeing an expenditure of about $20 million on the whole project.
The plan has been under discussion for quite some time, but serious consideration for the renovations was initiated about two years ago.
Nursing students said they are pleased with the innovations.
"The building is pretty hospitable for the students, but if they renovated it, it would make for a better environment," said Nursing and Wharton freshman Shruti Iyer, who is part of the Nursing and Health Care Management Program. "It will be great for incoming freshmen in the fall."
Others said they are glad to see that the campus' renovation frenzy has finally touched the Nursing Building.
"The Nursing Building tends to be neglected," Nursing senior Jamila Cowie said. "We cherish it -- it brings joy to me to see renovated a building that has shaped my education."
Originally built on three wings to accommodate the nurses of three distinct entities -- the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, the Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia General Hospital -- the building is now home only to the Nursing School.
"The building is ill-suited to the one occupant," Blaik said. "People working together have difficulty [reaching] each other."
Meleis said that the revamp "will create the opportunity and the environment to work together in a more cohesive way."
