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The exterior of McCracken Hall, which houses the Patton College of Education. 

McCracken Hall to reopen for Spring Semester

After more than a year and nearly $33 million in renovations, McCracken hall will finally open its doors to students in the Spring Semester.

The project was launched May 2015. Prior to that, McCracken Hall, which houses the Patton College of Education, had not been renovated since its construction in 1959. The renovation added nearly 40,000 square feet and an entire story to the building, as well as an adjacent four story addition.

Kimberly Barlag, director of communications and design management in the Patton College of Education, said in an email that, despite the expenses, most of the original building was maintained.

“The Patton College chose to reuse as much of the original infrastructure as possible,” Barlag said. “More than 90% of the original building’s exterior walls, roof structure and floor structure was retained and reused.”

The new building will house all five departments of the Patton College, marking the first time they have been housed under the same roof.

The improvements to the building are a part of Ohio University’s Comprehensive Master Plan, which lays out the groundwork for future expansions and renovations for the University.

According to a previous Post report, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis wants to maintain OU’s “current look” throughout the implementation of the Master Plan.

“We want to maintain as best we can the current look of our campus. That’s very, very important to maintain that,” McDavis said.

Madison Sweeney, a freshman studying adolescent-to-young adult integrated social studies, said she looks forward to using the newly renovated building.

“They’ve made great changes to the building,” Sweeney said. “They’ve made all the walls able to be written on … so we can write anywhere as we think.”

Barlag noted that the building was designed to reflect future changes in technology and education.

“Because technology is constantly changing, the renovated building was built with flexibility in mind, so it can change with it,” Barlag said. “It was important to the design to accommodate what could be predicated in the future.”

The Patton College staff began to move into the building in December, and the building will open its doors to students at the start of the Spring Semester on Jan. 3.

@LeckroneBennett

bl646915@ohio.edu

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