By Missy Loar | 1 comment .Posted: Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:15 pm | Updated: 12:48 pm, Thu Oct 14, 2010.
Miller Hall will be demolished over Christmas break due to the costs and risks of renovating a building as old as Miller.
The Ashland University Cabinet voted unanimously to demolish the building, according to a campus communication email from President Dr. Fred Finks.
"This was not an easy decision," he said in the email.
The cabinet weighed its options for two years before determining that the building needed to be demolished. According to the email from Finks, renovating Miller Hall would cost between $6-8 million, while just keeping the building open this winter would cost nearly $200,000 due to the condition of the roof, foundation and heating system.
"We learned a major lesson on the renovation of Kettering with the added cost, and we still have areas of the old building needing renovation," Finks said in the email, adding that there are often unforeseen issues when renovating old buildings.
The demolition of Miller Hall would also free up space along the Academic Corridor, where AU's strategic plan calls for the eventual construction of a new arts and humanities building. Currently, arts and humanities classes are spread across campus instead of united in one building like many of the colleges.
Finks also addressed the issue of Miller's historical value in the campus communication email.
"There is a historical sentiment with Miller as the oldest building on campus," he said. "We intend to keep the keystone, cupola (if salvageable) and other pieces that could be used in a new building on that site."
The cabinet had unanimous support from the Board of Trustees Finance and Facilities Committee, Finks said.
Comment
au1974grad posted at 12:07 pm on Tue, Oct 19, 2010
So even back in the early 70's Miller Hall was a surprising place to have to take Business classes. Here we have Dr. Lucille Ford, daughter of the owner of Myers Pump. She basically grew up on campus since her home was right across the street. That home had been donated to the college/university by then. She taught Honors classes in Economics to Freshmen in the basement of her girlhood home and then went across the street to her offices in Miller where she was Head of Business and Economics Department. Later she would run for Leutenant Governor of the State of Ohio. Well, she is a graduate of Stephens College you know. She has a brain on top of her shoulders.
Miller Hall. Indirect lighting for four years. That means incandescent light bulbs in light fixtures which reflected the light off of the ceiling and down to your desk. Give me a break. The lack of money to maintain those ivy covered walled building was evident then. Tear it down and don't think about such a time. Air conditioning probably came to the building but not then. Can you think of how much energy that building lost through the windows it had in the 70's. Those windows must have been replaced by now. Right? One of the nice things was that you could leave Miller Hall ( Business, Accounting, Economics, Religion, Geography, faculty offices) cross an entrance to a parking lot which served the Administration building and classrooms (Home Economics, English) as well as the brand new library building (1971-72 school year first year open) and get into the student center for ping pong, pool tables, broadcast television (you know 3 Cleveland stations and the public television from Cleveland), and a snack bar. From there you could walk into the Kettering Building and brave the weather, if it was raining or cold and windy, to enter the side entrance to the men's dormitory. Hey, you want a girl in your room? Only certain hours of the day. Top floor of the dorm was hot. Rooms had been divided in half with a wood partition which is where your clothes closet was. Two people to a room but the top of the wood divider had about 1/4 inch opening and when the guy next door was making love to his girl friend of the month, you knew how well they were doing. True love. How nice. So you think things are different today? Not much really has changed. One Spring a seed grew at the location of the flag pole in the quad. What grew was photographed and was on the front page of the college newspaper. Yep. Wacky tobacco was definately on campus.
Miller Hall to be destroyed? Don't forget to get a brick from the pile. The Alumni Department will ask for donations for them to send one. Used to be able to play football on the quad. We had a Spring rock concert there around 1974. Lots of bands. One of the students was working for Belkin Enterprises. He had the contacts. He was asked to pose next to the plant growing next to the American flag pole for that campus newspaper photo. Wonder what he is doing now.
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