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Following in the steps of Joshua and his followers of Old Testament days, his contemporary comrades can march around — or in — the building seven times — even more, if desired. Then, the walls will come tumblin’ down.

Oakwood, ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø’s nearly 40 year-old residence hall with a reputation for (mostly) harmless pranks and good-natured rowdiness, is slated for demolition around the first week of September.

A new 120-room residence hall will replace Oakwood at the same location on the “quad” facing Maplewood and Elmwood residence halls, completed in 1963.

Just before demolition occurs, former residents of the facility that housed some 2,800 men between 1969 and 2008 have been invited to come pay their last respects to the hallowed halls.

Invitation to Visit send to a friend

On Labor Day, Sept. 1, alumni, friends and community members are invited to tour Oakwood between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Demolition of the three-story, 35,000 square-foot building is scheduled to begin after Sept. 3.

Ken L. Nafziger, vice president for student life, and C. Eldon Kurtz, director of physical plant — both former Oakwood residents — will host the visitation along with EMU advancement division staff.

“Anyone who lived in Oakwood as a student or has interest in this facility of some notoriety is welcome to come for one last look at the building,” said Kirk L. Shisler, vice president for advancement. “Be aware, however, that the building won’t look like it did in its glory days… it has been stripped of furniture and salvageable material, some of which will be used in constructing the new facility.”

Furniture from the building has been sold or donated to Gift and Thrift for auction later this fall to benefit , reports Kurtz. Interior doors, mirrors, towel racks and other miscellaneous items have been shipped to Ethiopia for use at the Meserete Kristos College in Ethiopia.

Visitors can sign up to receive a brick from Oakwood with a small bronze plaque (“Oakwood 1969-2008”) that will be available at fall , Oct. 10-11, for a suggested $25 donation.

Proceeds will cover expenses and go toward a fund to establish an Oakwood wall or display in the new residence hall that incorporates materials salvaged from the old building. Cold drinks will be available at the visitation. Vouchers for lunch in the EMU dining hall will also be available for off-campus guests.

Local alumni in the building trades will join EMU Physical Plant director, Eldon Kurtz on Saturday, Aug. 31, to salvage materials from the walls prior to demolition. Other memorabilia — such as plumbing fixtures — will be available for sale on the day of the visitation and at homecoming this fall.

EMU plans to seek LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the silver level for the Oakwood demolition and construction process. All materials in the original building are being carefully assessed for re-usability. Debris from the demolition will be ground into fill for the new project. Unusable waste will be sorted for recycling. Ultimately, very little waste from the original building will go to the landfill.

EMU anticipates the new, $6 million, three-story residence hall will be ready for occupancy the fall of 2009.

Questions about the Labor Day visitation event can be directed to Douglas J. Nyce, director of alumni and parent relations.

on the EMU web site for persons to post Oakwood memories. A web cam will be set up to watch demolition and construction progress on a new facility at the same web address.

]]> /now/news/2008/trustees-approve-building-plans-academic-changes/ Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:00:00 +0000 http://www.emu.edu/blog/news/?p=1710 The walls will soon come tumblin’ down.

Oakwood residence hall at EMU, beloved by many alumni as an enclave for male pranksters, located on the quad adjacent to Maplewood and Elmwood residences, will be demolished late August. A new 120-room residence hall will replace Oakwood with a projected budget of $6 million.

The EMU board of trustees approved the building plans as part of its June 27-28 meeting on campus.

Oakwood Residence Hall, scheduled for demolition in August 2008. (Photo by Marcy Gineris)

The trustees also authorized staff to renovate Elmwood and Maplewood residence halls – including adding a “link” between the buildings if funding permits – with final approval of plans expected by June 2009.

“Campus housing is important in creating a positive social climate for student learning,” said Ken L. Nafziger, vice president for student life.

“Replacing Oakwood and remodeling or upgrading other residence facilities affords an exciting opportunity to tie these efforts into our campus-wide focus on creation care and sustainability.” One aspect of that: A covered bike storage area sufficient for 64 bicycles.

EMU anticipates demolition in August. The exact date is yet to be finalized, but it may include an open house “sleepover” for alumni who want one last night in the “hallowed halls” and a first swing with a sledgehammer the following morning, according to Douglas J. Nyce, director of EMU alumni-parent relations. Read more on the end of Oakwood…

Academic changes

In other business, the board approved a recommendation from the academics committee to combine the undergraduate justice, peace and conflict studies (JPCS) and applied sociology majors into one new major, “peacebuilding and development,” beginning fall 2009.

This 45 semester-hour major provides an Anabaptist-influenced framework for understanding social justice and intentional social change within the context of the fields of peacebuilding and development. By integrating foundational theoretical knowledge, interdisciplinary and experiential learning and skills development, the major prepares students for professional employment (practice) in social justice and social change.

The major embodies EMU’s stated mission to live out Anabaptist Christian convictions by following Jesus’ call to ‘witness faithfully, serve compassionately, and walk boldly in the way of nonviolence and peace,'” as called for in EMU’s vision statement, which was also updated at this meeting (full newly-adopted statement can be seen at www.emu.edu/president/mission).

The board also approved a recommendation to add a non-profit entrepreneurial management concentration in the master of business administration (MBA) program. A certificate in the same area will also be offered jointly with EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP).

“Non-profit management is a natural area for a Mennonite institution,” outgoing Provost Beryl H. Brubaker told the board. “It will bring added value to our program and is of great interest to our CJP students who often leave EMU to manage non-government organizations (NGOs) in the peacebuilding arena.”

Seminary growth in Lancaster, Pa.

Trustee Linford King, chair of the seminary committee, reported that the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) had just given final approval for Eastern Mennonite Seminary to offer the full master of divinity degree (MDiv) degree at EMU’s Lancaster, Pa., extension site.

“This is a major step forward to be able to provide this opportunity for theological study for many persons who are unable to move to Harrisonburg,” King said.

Provost retires

Dr. Brubaker was feted at a dinner meeting – that included some former trustees and faculty colleagues – for her “37 years of distinguished service” to the university as a nursing department faculty member and department chair and other administrative roles.

While she is retiring as provost, Brubaker will continue to work part time in coordinating the university’s reaccreditation process for another 10 year period by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

A long-time friend surprised Brubaker by pledging $50,000 to fund the Beryl Hartzler Brubaker Endowed Scholarship for nursing students at EMU.

By Heather Bowser, Daily News-Record

For nearly four decades, the enclave for male pranksters living in EMU’s Oakwood dorm earned the nickname “the animal house.”

They stayed up late. They made noise. “They were a little harder on the furniture,” facilities personnel said.

EMU’s Oakwood residence hall (Photo by Marcy Gineris)

For example, last year, a few guys attempted to stash the school’s 250-pound stuffed American Bison on the roof. The prank failed, however, with one student rushed to the hospital after falling off the roof.

Although prone to wild and wacky tricks, gags and pranks, the Mennonite guys were not quite the misfits typified in the 1978 National Lampoon comedy of the same name, EMU officials and former residents said.

“Usually, we would soap up the first floor and go sliding down the hallway,” said Ken L. Nafziger, who lived in the dorm during the 1970s and is now EMU’s vice president for student life. “The problem usually started when the guys on the second floor did it too. Water seeps.”

But, those rowdy days of the Oakwood crew are about to end.

Next month, EMU will demolish the 109-room residence hall to make way for a new $6 million dormitory. The university’s board of trustees approved the building plans at its June meeting.

The new dorm, officials said, will be bigger, cleaner, brighter, better and it will even house girls, officially ending a 39-year streak as the rowdy boys-only club.

Once Upon A Dorm

Located on EMU’s quad, adjacent to the other two “woods” dorms – Maplewood and Elmwood – Oakwood was constructed in 1969 “in a hurry,” said Eldon Kurtz, director of physical plant who was a residence hall adviser in Oakwood during the 1970s.

According to EMU records, the contract documents were approved in February 1969, and the building was up by the end of that summer. The quick construction left much to be desired in Oakwood, officials said.

The hall has only one small lobby per floor and that one doesn’t have any windows. The ventilation isn’t great and the material in the floor tiles contains asbestos.

“The structure is sound but the design and layout does not promote good community interaction, Kurtz said. “It’s hot and stuffy.”

The new 35,000-square-foot building will be everything Oakwood isn’t, officials said. It will have 11 more bedrooms, several additional lobbies and better amenities all around. It will be equipped with wireless Internet, bike storage area, large flat-screen televisions and a homier feel.

New Plans ‘Green’

EMU plans call for using “green” technology, including high-efficiency heating and cooling systems, low-water-usage appliances and using local and recycled materials. The university plans to recycle as much of the old building as possible, likely cleaning up the old bricks and reusing them.

EMU will pay for the new building, which hasn’t yet been named, with a bond, Nafziger said. Later, there also are plans to renovate the other two woods dorms, and, possibly, if funding permits, construct a “link” between the three buildings. Final approval of those plans is expected a year from now. Give to green building at EMU…

The university’s annual budget is $28 million, said Ron Piper, vice president for finance. The school’s endowment is $21 million.

‘Sleepover’ Scheduled

Sometime before next month’s demolition – after local fire departments have a go at a few training exercises – a few Oakwood guys may have a chance to relive the glory days.

EMU is attempting to schedule an open house “sleepover” for alumni who want one last night in the hallowed halls, said Doug Nyce, director of alumni-parent relations. The next morning, the university will let the gang have the first swing with a sledgehammer. (Tentative date for sleepover is August 15.)

The hallways will be carpeted, by the way, thwarting any slip-‘n’-slide action by the new tenants.