While students have been working and otherwise enjoying their summers, Ashland University has been hard at work making some changes to campus.

The most notable changes for students and community members is the crosswalks at the intersection of King Road, Claremont Avenue, and College Avenue, and the new seating in the dining hall where Fishbowl used to be.

Patrick Ewing, Vice President of Operations and Planning, said the new sidewalk work is in conjunction with a City of Ashland project to replace the traffic lights and pedestrian crosswalks and intersections.

“We wanted to take the opportunity to improve not only the aesthetics and the look and feel of the intersection, but also to improve safety and pedestrian access,” Ewing said.

The sidewalks have been pulled off and back from the streets and there is a bigger landing zone for pedestrians and students to stand as they wait to cross. The Ashland University sign at that intersection will also receive backlighting for the letters to improve visibility.

The eagle statue that is there now has simply been relocated from the corner of King and College, due to the work of installing the traffic lights taking the place of where he used to sit.

The Facilities Management and Planning department and Sticks -n- Stones Landscaping of Ashland worked together to facilitate these changes.

Fishbowl was a project that took place early in the summer. Facilities tore down the glass and the walls, and created a new seating arrangement.

“We’ve eliminated that, opened that whole area up, put in some bar height seating, and charging stations,” Ewing said.

Other changes include furnishings in the dorms, Amstutz and Kem in particular. Aging furniture is being replaced in elevator lobbies, as well as new mattresses. 

There was also work done in some academic buildings. 

The Ridenour Room in COBE has a few upgrades (primarily with technology), the main lobby was furnished, and the COBE cafe was renovated.

Ewing said a few more changes took place that are not as noticeable. 

The waterline that ran in front of the Rec Center has been replaced, and Facilities also replaced some air handling units and boilers around campus.

As for in-progress changes, Sticks -n- Stones Landscaping is adding a fire pit to the patio area behind the Eagles Nest, which Ewing hopes “students, faculty and community members will be really excited about.”

The Office of Christian Ministry is in the process of adding a prayer garden beside the Chapel. Mallorie Dladla – prior Assistant Director of Christian Ministry, promoted to University Chaplain on July 1 – said the garden was suggested last year by the trustee’s auxiliary board, the spouses of Board of Trustees members, to create a space for prayer and reflection in response to anticipated stresses of student life.

The Office of Christian Ministry and Facilities created a plan to restore the unused space outside of the chapel. The garden was designed by Toby White from Facilities and funded entirely by the auxiliary board, which also contributes funds to helping students who cannot afford textbooks.

“I am very excited,” Dladla said. “I love the idea of having many spaces on campus where students feel like they can slow down, take a deep breath, pray if they are praying people. I think it is a great use of previously unused space.” 

The project is anticipated to be finished this semester, “hopefully by September or October.”

Phi Delta Theta fraternity members will notice some changes in their house.

 Several alumni, including Cory Akin, 2013, came in and spent the summer replacing flooring and carpet, fixing and repainting all of the drywall, working on the sidewalk, and installing a large storage closet in the basement for decorations and lawn games.

“It was something that was long overdue and definitely needed done,” Akin said. “I lived in the house for four and a half years, it’s a place that holds a lot of fond memories for me, so it was nice to help out a little bit and give the actives something a little bit nicer in their house.” 

The Rec Center has also extended their hours. 

They will now be open an hour later Monday through Thursday from 6:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m., and open their doors an hour earlier on Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m.-10:00p.m.

IT also updated all of the lab computers and classroom computers to Windows 10 because it is a more secure operating system than Windows 7.

“I’m an engineer by trade and I like to build things, so I think changes are very positive, “Ewing said. “In most cases it’s about improving the campus, sometimes it’s about fixing what needs to be fixed, but any time we can make improvements and changes and update campus, it’s going to be better for the university and for the students.”