Written by Stacy Roibal // Photo by Balazs Balassa
Harding’s campus has been undergoing various changes over the course of the current school year, and there are still more projects in the works.
Progress has been made with the new Holland-Waller Center. Director of physical resources Danny DeRamus said his department is working hard to try to get it done by August. There have been issues with building materials being on backorder across the country, which has held up the timeline.
Ryan Carter, the construction manager for physical resources, said they have a double crew working right now, and they are getting things done faster than normal in recent weeks.
The Holland-Waller Center is being dedicated to Joella Waller and Sue Holland, two women of faith who valued Christian education and made many sacrifices to ensure their children could attend Harding.
Freshman Hayley Waller, great-granddaughter of both Joella Waller and Sue Holland, said her family remembered how much of a Christian influence these women had on their lives, and they wanted to do something special to remember them by. Part of that influence was helping the family get a Christian education, said another great-granddaughter of Joella Waller, freshman Katie Yurcho.
“Joella saved all of her social security checks and put them into a fund for our grandparents so they were able to have a quality Christian education here at Harding,” Yurcho said.
Yurcho said her family has a legacy of many great women, but especially these two great women who were heavily involved in their churches and prioritized Christian education.
Another major project is the new track being laid next to the intramural fields. Carter said they are dependent on good weather in order for the stripes to be painted, but the track surfaces are in.
“We’re working on a building,” Carter said. “We have a little storage building and bathroom facility down there. Our plumbers have been doing the plumbing for that. [I] would imagine we’re gonna see a lot of action down there within the next couple weeks.”
Over the Christmas break, DeRamus said physical resources gutted the third floor of Kendall Hall, where the new architecture program will go, and work on this project will be continuing till August. He also said they are meeting with the architect and engineer this week “to nail down some things so we can get started.”
Physical resources will also be cutting across the walkway that runs from behind the Stephens Art Building to the Hammond Student Center in a continuation of what was done behind Benson Auditorium last semester.
“Oh we’re fixing to make your life difficult over behind the art building, we’re extending some piping,” DeRamus said.
Over the past weekend, road construction began on Dr. Jimmy Carr Drive.
“Those aren’t our streets, so it’s all city stuff,” Carter said.
But he said he is excited about the new roads.
As for parking on campus, DeRamus said they are almost ready to return the parking lot behind the Benson for student use. However, the lot behind the Holland-Waller Center is going to have to stay closed until construction ends later this year.
