ATU to demolish historic structures, renovate classrooms and student living spaces

Russellville-based Arkansas Tech University will demolish its administration building and the historic Tomlinson Hall to save almost $7 million in renovation costs and to refocus funds on classrooms and student living spaces.

The ATU Board of Trustees on Monday (Oct. 2) approved a recommendation from interim ATU President Dr. Russell Jones to demolish the two structures.

“By taking this step, ATU will save $6.9 million in required structural renovations identified at the Administration Building and Tomlinson Hall,” Jones said in a statement. “Rather than sinking those funds into these two largely administrative spaces, we will be able to invest those funds in upgrades to areas that more directly influence the day-to-day experience of students, faculty and staff. We will also be able to re-locate the personnel in those two buildings to improved work accommodations with no external construction cost.”

The ATU office of the President, the ATU office of Academic Affairs and some offices for the ATU Division of Administration and Finance will move to the third floor of Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center. ATU Division of Advancement offices that were in the Administration Building will move to the ATU-owned facility at 715 N. El Paso Ave. in Russellville.

The ATU Graduate College offices and the ATU office of Human Resources will move to the fourth floor of Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall. The ATU office of Information Systems personnel that were located on the third floor of Pendergraft Library and Technology Center will also move to the fourth floor of Brown Hall.

With the savings from razing the administration building and Tomlinson Hall rather than renovating them, university officials will pursue academic space renovations in Corley Hall, Rothwell Hall, McEver Hall, Dean Hall and Witherspoon Hall. Other work will include interior renovations at University Commons apartments and replacement of the cooling tower for the Doc Bryan Student Services Building.

Historical elements of the Administration Building and Tomlinson Hall – including dedication plaques, cornerstones and the cupola atop Tomlinson – will be preserved during the demolition process.

“While these buildings have a significant place in Tech history, the financial viability of our campus is of a higher concern,” wrote Laury Fiorello, ATU vice president for administration and finance, in a memorandum presented to trustees.

The west side of the ATU Administration Building was constructed in 1910 and was originally a dining hall with a seating capacity of 200. After construction of Chambers Cafeteria was completed in 1965, the old dining hall was remodeled and converted into the Administration Building. The facility has provided that function since 1966.

Tomlinson Hall was the library at Arkansas Tech from the time of its construction in 1936 until the opening of Pendergraft Library and Technology Center in 1999. The Arkansas Tech Board of Trustees voted in October 1954 to name the library for Everett S. Tomlinson, who served on the horticulture and science faculty at Arkansas Tech from 1921-49. An expansion of Tomlinson Library was completed in August 1966. Since the opening of Pendergraft Library and Technology Center, Tomlinson Hall has served a variety of administrative and academic functions.