Provost's Update on Macelwane Hall

SLU Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., issued the following update to the SLU community on the condition of Macelwane Hall on June 6. The update follows the May 25 that damaged labs, offices and teaching space in the Department of Biology. Plans are underway for renovations.

Dear faculty, staff, and students:

In the evening on Thursday, May 25th, a fire broke out on the third floor of Macelwane Hall, the academic home of our Department of Biology.  Thankfully, no one was injured.

Unfortunately, the fire itself, the smoke it generated, and the water significantly damaged most portions of the building.  Classrooms, teaching labs, research labs, and faculty offices were all affected.  The damage is such that the building cannot be renovated and ready to occupy for the Fall 2017 academic term. However, university leaders have developed a plan for housing all displaced faculty, laboratories, and courses that had been scheduled in Macelwane Hall during the 2017-2018 academic year.  Key elements of that plan include the following:

• The majority of Biology Department lab courses will, for 2017-2018, be taught in the 140,000 square foot St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS) building at the corner of Spring and Chouteau Avenues. This building was purchased by SLU in Fall 2017 as part of the long-term expansion of the South Campus, and it abuts the land on which the new $550 million SSM Saint Louis University Hospital will be built.  Thanks to the remodeling and upkeep conducted by SLPS, only minimal renovations will be necessary to prepare it for Fall 2017.  It already features well-equipped laboratories and classrooms that will be adapted for our world-class University instruction.  We have decided to call our temporary Biology home the Biology Extension Building.

• All laboratory and lecture courses moved from Macelwane to the Biology Extension Building will be taught as previously scheduled.  The proximity of the Biology Extension Building to other South and North Campus buildings means we do not have to make changes to class times and student schedules. Dedicated SLU campus shuttles will be leased to transport SLU faculty and students to and from this building and other campus locations, just as shuttles transport faculty and students to and from other South Campus buildings.

• The remaining Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and other courses scheduled for Macelwane Hall in 2017-2018 will be moved to nearby buildings such as Monsanto Hall, Shannon Hall, and McDonnell-Douglas Hall; again, no changes to class times or days will be required.

• Chemistry labs that were located in Macelwane will be held in the basement of Ritter Hall.

• Biology faculty offices are being temporarily relocated to Fusz Hall, but will be relocated to the Biology Extension Building once that building's minor renovations are complete.  Staff from our Office of Facilities Services are helping faculty move contents from their Macelwane offices to their new office spaces.  Damaged contents are being cleaned or replaced per faculty needs.

• Faculty research labs are also being relocated, with most moving to locations in the School of Medicine.  The loss of key equipment and supplies critical to faculty research efforts has been both personally and professionally trying for faculty.  But we are committed to ensuring that SLU’s national and international reputation for exemplary research will not be adversely impacted by this temporary relocation.

There is no question that the changes noted above, and all related changes, present challenges.  Our biology curriculum is an institutional hallmark, and fundamental to so many undergraduate and graduate programs.  Moving nearly everything associated with that department – even only temporarily – is a major task requiring unparalleled collaboration across the faculty and administrative units.  I am so proud to report that such collaboration is happening; I have been moved by how everyone involved has pulled together in support of each other.  

Long-term plans for renovations to Macelwane Hall are still in the works, and are fundamentally tied to our campus master-planning efforts.  Whatever we opt to do, we will do so driven to provide faculty and students the finest classroom, laboratory, and working spaces so that we can advance our shared educational mission.  I will keep you updated on those plans throughout the coming year. If you have questions, please contact Jack Kennell at biology@slu.edu or 314-977-3910.

In the meantime, I ask that you share a prayer of gratitude that no one was hurt by the fire; we thank those who worked so valiantly to extinguish it.  We pray as well that those who serve us by building and remodeling our wonderful facilities remain safe.  As challenging as times like these are, we are blessed that they reinforce what matters most to us all -- a caring SLU community that rallies to help those in need.

Sincerely,

Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D.