Construction at Rose Arena is beginning to reveal what the expanded $21.5-million CMU Events Center will look like.

The structural steel and precast concrete walls now in place are the beginning of the lobby and practice facilities. Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said the construction is right on track.

“The structural steel is up and they’ve erected the precast concrete walls,” Lawrence said. “They are also installing roof trusses on the practice gym. Things are on schedule.”

Rose Arena-based athletics teams closed their home schedule Saturday when the gymnastics team beat Ball State, allowing interior work to get under way.

The lobby and arena portion of the project is still slated for completion in October 2010. The practice gym will be finished in December, Lawrence said.

Richard Yoon, a Troy sophomore, said the construction is looking good.

“I think they’re doing a great job trying to get it finished before basketball season,” Yoon said. “It’s starting to look like something now.”

The mild winter may have offered a helping hand. Lawrence said weather did not put construction behind schedule.

“The construction workers knew they would be working through the winter, but there were actually only a few bad snowstorms,” he said. “It was a much easier winter for construction than we’ve had in the past.”

Fitness expansion

The SAC fitness room expansion is not yet under way.

“The current wrestling practice room is going to be renovated and connected to the existing SAC fitness room,” Lawrence said.

Yoon said he frequently goes to the SAC to work out.

“I’m excited they’re expanding the fitness room, too. I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished,” he said.

Lawrence said the extra room will provide an additional 4,700 square feet for the fitness room. It is an approximate 45 percent increase in space and should be complete by February 2011.

Many freshmen acknowledge the opportunity to park on campus at Central Michigan University as an advantage over other schools across the state.

But in a time of financial distress, is it time for officials to re-examine permit costs as a chance for added revenue?

“Layered parking” was one of about 150 recent suggestions to Central Michigan University officials to address the school’s budget woes. The Senior Staff Budget Advisory Group fielded a related question among suggestions sent to the group.

The suggestions read: “Create a layered parking price by year at CMU for students. May be a disincentive for freshman to bring their vehicles to campus and keep them on campus on weekends (one suggestion freshman pay $450, sophomores $350, juniors $250, and seniors $150).”

The university’s response was: “Under consideration.”

CMU Police Chief Bill Yeagley said he does not see changes coming to the parking system just because of the idea.

“There is no serious discussion about changing the parking system right now. At the moment, it is just a suggestion,” Yeagley said. “There needs to be a lot more details about a new system before talk of throwing out the current system.”

Student reaction

Chesterfield senior Matt Mihelich said adjusting parking permit fees to a tiered system may cut down on the number of freshmen with cars their first year.

“If freshmen have to pay that much, it might discourage them from bringing cars,” Mihelich said. “That might help reduce some of the traffic on campus too.”

Troy freshmen Jake Simmons said he would not necessarily be opposed to the idea. But he expressed concern because of the location of some parking.

“Freshmen being allowed to have cars on campus is a privilege,” Simmons said. “Will freshmen still have to park far away in the freshmen lot if they pay $450 for their pass?”

Belding junior Mike Griffioen said tiered parking fees are a good idea if the system generates money for the university.

“I’m all for it if they decide to do the layered parking,” Griffioen said. “If it will help bring in revenue then it’s something that should be looked into.”

Students, however, should not expect changes any time soon. Yeagley said there are no active intentions to change the parking system.

He said he is pleased with the way things are operating now. Michigan State University charges anywhere from $89 for commuters to $268 for other students, as long as they are above freshman standing. At Western Michigan University, it costs $300 for an academic school year to park on campus. At CMU, it costs between $150 and $175 to park for an academic year.

Yeagley has been an officer for 31 years and said he has seen the parking improve drastically over the years.

“CMU probably has one of the top parking systems I’ve seen,” he said. “I think it is a good system right now.”

Area bicyclists will soon have a new bike path to peddle.

Central Michigan University is adding a bike lane this summer on Franklin Street, from Preston Street to Bellows Street.

The path will come without road construction.

“We just have to paint the lines up the street,” said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management. “It’s a very low-cost project.”

The exact cost of how much painting the lines will cost unknown, but Lawrence said it will be minimal. The university owns the streets, so the painting can be done in-house.

Mount Pleasant freshman Steve Shaffer likes the idea of an added bike lane.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “It will make the sidewalks a little less crowded.”

Students who live in the area also think the lanes are a good decision.

Kingsley junior Jeremy Olson said he occasionally rides a bike to and from classes and sidewalk traffic can be a hassle.

“The lanes will give bikers their own area, so they aren’t forced to ride on crowded sidewalks,” Olson said.

Improved safety for pedestrians is an ongoing incentive for CMU and adding the bike lane is a sound decision, Lawrence said.

“It’s an extremely low-cost project to provide space for bikers,” he said.

Olson said he feels better about the project, knowing it is beneficial for students, but will not add to the university’s financial struggles.

“Low cost is a good thing right now. The university can’t afford to throw a lot of money around with all the budget cuts,” Olson said.

Barbara Kirchner will never forget the close connection she and her husband, Richard, had with Central Michigan University.

Though Richard died Dec. 2 at 79 years old, she said the memories of his career as an athletics coach will always be close to her heart.

Richard was born in Schenectady, N.Y., on Feb. 17, 1930. He worked at CMU for 36 years as the founding chairman of the recreation and park administration department before retiring in 1992.

He was recruited at CMU as the head wrestling coach, a position he held for eight years.

Richard finished his coaching career with a winning record of .721 and was inducted into the Central Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame. Barbara, whom he married on Feb. 2, 1951, said he developed a strong relationship with his players during his coaching career.

“He had a bond with his team. He was very close with his players,” she said.

Barbara said Richard was a very kind and dedicated person. She said he was always thinking about the well being of others.

“Richard was a great family man,” she said. “He had great concern for other people. He wanted to see others succeed.”

Kirchner was deeply respected by his players. Barbara Kirchner counted numerous times when he was approached by past players and thanked for his dedication.

“Past players would see him and say to him ‘If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today’,” Barbara said. “It always meant a lot of him when it happened.”

The corners of Washington Street and Ottawa Court and Washington Street and Ojibway Court are expected to see less congestion with cars this semester.

The stop signs at Ottawa Court were replaced with yield signs, and Ojibway Court had new stop signs installed.

The signs were placed by the city of Mount Pleasant at the request of Central Michigan University, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of facilities management.

“Washington is a city street, so we had to make a request to them to change the signs,” Lawrence said.

The cost was estimated at $400. Lawrence said they had received some requests from campus to have the traffic signs changed.

“People said they were having a difficult time driving through that area,” Lawrence said.

A natural fit

The university was not the only one to understand the practicality of having the traffic signs changed.

Duane Ellis, Mount Pleasant director of public works, said it was natural to change the signs because, in the summer, Ottawa and Ojibway courts changed to one-way streets.

“After the university changed Ottawa into a one-way, there was no need for the stop signs — people could only turn in,” Ellis said.

The point of changing the signs was to help increase the flow of traffic, which was often backed up in that area, he said.

“The stop signs at Ojibway will make it much easier for people to turn back onto Washington,” Ellis said.

The university contacted the city in the fall about having the traffic signs changed. Ellis said the plans had to be reviewed by the city’s traffic committee.

After that, it was decided to wait until break to do the construction.

“It was easier to wait until everyone was gone. There wouldn’t be a lot of traffic during break, so it was better that way,” Ellis said.

Lawrence said there are no more plans to add or change any more traffic signs around campus.

Dykstra Heinze has retired and is seeking new challenges after almost 20 years of serving Central Michigan University.

Heinze, the director of the Leadership Institute, came to CMU in 1990 as an active duty Lieutenant Colonel. After his retirement from the military, he had to make the transition from training soldiers to training students.

“The military is much more rigid. There is a lot more flexibility outside the military. It’s a different kind of process,” Heinze said.

He ended his career at CMU Friday, but will be back Jan. 21 and 22.

Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe said the Leadership Institute could not have had a better leader.

“It was only natural to tap into Dyke and use his skills to train future leaders. The quality of the program is a direct result of Dykes’ own personal qualities. They reflect him and his values. He is very well respected by students, staff and the administrators,” Roscoe said.

Julia Sherlock, director of career services, said Heinze has been a leader and a mentor to many different people, not just students.

“His heart is in the right place. He is a natural-born leader. As the founding director of the Leadership Institute, he has made a big impact on the university,” Sherlock said.

Heinze said students and their ideas keep him invigorated.

“The students have a sense of optimism and enthusiasm, like the world is ahead of them. It’s really refreshing to see that. They come in with new ideas and they see less obstacles than older people do. I’ve learned to listen to my students and act on their interests because of this,” Heinze said.

A transition time

While Heinze’s retirement is a great loss for the Leadership Institute, it will still maintain its place on campus, Roscoe said.

“It’s foolish to expect that we can replace Dyke. It’s going to be a transition, but we will retain the commitment that he had for the program. He built a very stable unit and we will make sure it does not lose its integrity,” Roscoe said.

Heinze said CMU has one of the premiere leadership programs in the Midwest, and other colleges frequently contact the university for advice on how to start their programs.

“Since the program started, the amount of student involvement has increased dramatically,” Heinze said.

The leadership program is intended to help students do more and be involved in things they ordinarily would not do. The program gives students invaluable experience, Sherlock said.

“When you talk to employers, they say, ‘Well, that’s great to have a 4.0, but what else have you done?’” she said.

Roscoe said the program also has helped to give students a bigger voice.

“Students are powerful here at CMU. The student voice has grown immensely since the introduction of the Leadership Institute,” Roscoe said.

He said CMU has been lucky to have Heinze and appreciates all he has done.

“The Leadership Institute is Dykes’ legacy. He can be extremely proud of what he built and the students and staff appreciate him greatly for it,” Roscoe said.

Facility Management staff and others found eight lights on campus not working Tuesday during their annual campus walkthrough.

The group takes a tour through campus at night once a year to check the 1,337 lights for the students’ safety.

Staff from FM, a Central Michigan University police officer and two Student Government Association representatives walked through campus in search of burnt-out lights and areas that may be too dark.

Linda Slater, director of plant engineering and planning, said the walkthrough is done once a year and to check areas that students mention as being of concern.

“It’s important to have student input. We check the spaces that students feel are important. The main goal is just to improve safety,” Slater said.

Mike LeMay, supervisor of electrical and maintenance mechanics, said he has two people who work full-time for lighting and look for burnt-out lights on a regular basis.

“I come in once a week for inventory and look at a quarter of campus. Usually, there are two to four lights out every week. We put work orders in for them to be fixed right away,” LeMay said.

Slater said the eight burnt-out lights is average.

Everything on campus is well-lit — it is mainly about making things brighter, said Stanley Martin, journeyman maintenance mechanic for FM.

The walkthrough

The group takes measure of the amount of light in a given area during a walkthrough. They look for the minimum light standard, Slater said.

“We have a device that measures in foot candles. This tells us the amount of light in an area and if it is too dark,” she said.

A foot candle is defined as the amount of illumination the inside surface of a 1-foot radius sphere would be receiving if there were a uniform point source of one candela in the exact center of the sphere.

FM also has to make sure there is not too much light in a given area. Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said lights sometimes have to be changed to comply with city ordinance.

“We have to use a special type of fixture in order to not cause light pollution. The lights must point down and not light up the sky,” Lawrence said.

There are 437 of the new type of light fixtures on campus. Martin said the new light fixtures are being used to comply with the city ordinance.

“The light fixtures point directly down and are also capable of covering a much larger area because of that,” he said. “The lights also have a very long life. They last about 8,000 hours.”

New projects

Slater said the walkthrough also is used to identify projects for the following summer.

“It works well with the project cycle,” she said.

There were a few areas with new lights that were identified last fall as dark areas — Warriner Mall and on Washington Street, LeMay said.

After the walkthrough, it was concluded the campus was well-lit in most places. Slater said there are five areas that will be assessed for future projects — add one or two lights at the northwest corner of Powers Hall, an additional light pole at the southeast corner of Brooks Hall, one or two lights for the paths on the southwest corner of Brooks Hall, additional lighting along the west side of the Engineering and Technology Building and completing the lighting of Warriner Mall, including the sidewalk along the west side of Sloan Hall.

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., is speaking about political integrity Sunday at Central Michigan University.

Levin is the first in a series of speakers for the Phillip A. Hart and William G. Milliken Endowed Speaker Series for Integrity in Politics. The event takes place at 7 p.m. in Moore Hall’s Bush Theatre and is free.

Bryan Thomas, Levin’s spokesman, said Levin is excited and honored to speak at CMU.

“Sen. Levin’s speech will discuss his thoughts on the duty of lawmakers in a democracy and how he approaches that duty, balancing the competing interests and pressures in politics,” Thomas said.

The decision to bring Levin as a speaker for the series was made because of his close personal and professional relationship with Hart and Milliken, said Pam Gates, interim dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Charles Novitski, an adviser for the College Democrats and associate professor of biology, said he is pleased with the choice to bring Levin in as a speaker.

“I’ve been watching him over the years. He has worked very hard and done it all with lots of integrity,” Novitski said. “Integrity is an awfully important topic in regards to politics.”

Levin hopes the series will inspire and inform students interested in politics and prepare them for the future, Thomas said.

“He’ll also offer some lessons from his own career about how those interested in politics can best prepare themselves for such a career. For students interested in politics and public policy, he hopes the address will spark a conversation about how legislators can best serve their constituents,” Thomas said.

The series is hosted by the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Science.

“We hope that students attend from all disciplines. We are also hoping to see members of the community attend as well,” said Sarah Buckley, coordinator of marketing and events at CMU. “We want to reach people beyond just one specific major or department.”