If students are not getting politically involved, Proposition 1D on the Nov. 7 ballot might change their mind. The proposition will give $16.7 million over two years to Cal Poly for the design of a new science center, replacement of the Anderson Pool, equipment and furniture for the Construction Management building and other minor upgrades and renovations around campus.
Funds from Proposition 1D will provide $4.6 million for plans to replace the existing Science building from 1962. The proposed multi-story building will contain chemistry, physics and soil science laboratories and research facilities.
Vice president for Administration and Finance Larry Kelley said he is very excited about what this means for Cal Poly if the measure passes.
College of Science and Mathematics Dean Philip Bailey has reminded faculty and staff that all “all students pass through the sciences,” Bailey said.
An additional proposition would need to pass in order to begin construction after Proposition 1D passed. It will likely be on next year’s ballot, Kelley said.
The new building will meet state safety and disability requirements. It was more expensive to retrofit the existing Science building then it would have been to build a new one.
The new building will give Cal Poly students and faculty “modern classrooms for modern teaching,” physics department chair Richard A. Saenz said.
The earth and soil sciences department is among one of the departments to be revamped.
“Having a new building . sounds greedy because we have good equipment and labs,” earth science senior Charles Schembre said.
But some students are bothered by the construction the project would require.
“I think it will throw the department out of wack,” earth science senior Jennifer Carr said. But added that the department is lucky because it has its own section in the spider building with a lab, faculty offices and classes within the same area.
“I want to hurry up and graduate to avoid the mess,” Carr said.
If Proposition 1D passes, the remaining $12.1 million worth of equipment and furniture supplied for the new engineering and architecture classrooms and labs will be provided by 2004’s Proposition 55.
The Anderson Pool improvements would include the installation of turbulence-reducing gutters and an energy-efficient heating system that would meet the needs of the kinesiology program and the other classes taught there.
A portion of the money will be used to upgrade classrooms to comply with the Americans with Disability Act standards, install more multimedia outlets and conduct Kennedy Library renovations.
The last item in the proposal is to supply furniture and multimedia equipment for the new construction management building, the Center for Construction Excellence.
In addition to the funding provided by the state, the Cal Poly Foundation is dedicated to raise additional money. Bob Wacker, a founding member of the Cal Poly Foundation, told The Tribune that the foundation has pledged to raise $10 million to add to the state’s support.