State funds Stoxen
Dickinson State University will receive $8.8 million to fund a Stoxen Library renovation, Gov. John Hoeven announced in Dickinson, Wednesday. “On a scale of one to 10, our excitement meter is a 12,” said Dr. Richard McCallum, DSU president.
- Image
- Image
Dickinson State University will receive $8.8 million to fund a Stoxen Library renovation, Gov. John Hoeven announced in Dickinson, Wednesday.
“On a scale of one to 10, our excitement meter is a 12,” said Dr. Richard McCallum, DSU president.
Construction will likely be completed within two years after groundbreaking, McCallum said after the conference.
“Once we identify an architect and begin to develop plans, we would hope to have a groundbreaking ceremony later this year,” McCallum said.
Funding was appropriated by the 2009 Legislature, Pam Sharp, director of the state Office of Management and Budget, said at the conference. The money was contingent upon the state general fund exceeding its expected revenue projections from July 1 through Dec. 31 by $25 million dollars.
“I’m really happy to say that the revenues are $33.7 million ahead of the forecast as of Dec. 31, 2009, so we have a nice cushion,” Sharp said. “I’m just really happy to say that because of that, you’ll get your $8.8 million.”
This is one of four contingent appropriations the Legislature planned for, Sharp said. Three of those appropriations have met the criteria, she added.
An addition will be built onto the existing library, McCallum said.
“The library has been busting at the seams for a while and many volumes of library collections are stored offsite that are not immediately available to patrons because we’ve run out of room just for basic library services,” said Sharon Kilzer, project manager for the DSU Theodore Roosevelt Center, which is located in the library.
Lu Zhang, 21, a DSU student who uses the library nearly every day, thinks expanding the library is a good idea.
“There will be more room for studying and more facilities,” Zhang said.
DSU student Carlina Smith, 20, said she rarely goes to Stoxen Library, but when she does, there are rarely computers available for her to use.
“There’s not enough outlets, either to bring your own computer,” Smith said.
She has also heard other students complain about not having enough research materials to go around.
Smith would use the library twice as much if it were expanded, she said. The expansion would make the campus more appealing, she added.
“It would help them compete with NDSU and stuff like that,” Smith said.
Kilzer said 40,000 square feet will be added to Stoxen Library, with 5,000 square feet devoted to the Theodore Roosevelt Center.
“We will also provide an expansion of our library services and create a state-of-the-art learning environment for our campus, our students and our faculty,” McCallum said at the conference.
The TR Digital Library, much of which will be available within a year, will be located in the Theodore Roosevelt Center.
“It’s going to be so much more than you think of when you think of books,” Hoeven said. “This is the Stoxen Library, but specifically, this is about the Teddy Roosevelt Center Virtual Library. That’s a really cool, exciting concept.”
The project will be good for tourism and business development, Hoeven added.
Mayor Dennis Johnson said it will be a great addition to the community.
“Certainly this project is going to continue to advance our cause, improving our quality of life, so Dickinson and this region is a place where people want to live, want to work and want to go to school,” he said.
Tags: news, local, dsu, stoxen, hoeven
More from around the web
RSS Feeds