Odegard classroom upgrades highlight Aerospace priorities

Pair of summer renovations mark start of long-term classroom upgrade plan for School of Aerospace Sciences

A plan to modernize classrooms throughout the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences kicked into action this summer, starting with two highly used spaces on Odegard Hall’s ground floor.

With upgrades soon to be completed in Rooms 106 and 112, it’s time for the School to say goodbye to some of the building’s original traits, said Elizabeth Bjerke, associate dean.

“Odegard Hall was built in the late 1980s, and, in all honesty, not much has changed in the classroom spaces since that time,” she said.

The blues and mauves of the late 20^th century will be retired in favor of UND’s modern branding of brighter whites and greens, among more substantive changes.

“We started discussing a plan for classroom upgrades well before the pandemic, knowing that we couldn’t take all rooms offline at the same time due to high demand.”

The plan – now in motion after the overall disruption of the pandemic era – represents a strategic priority for the School: updating its teaching spaces and bringing about “much needed improvements.”

Rooms 106 and 112 will be up and running in time for the fall semester, and they will be the first points of proof as to what Aerospace Sciences seeks to improve going forward.

Chris Choate, a construction manager for UND Facilities Management, listed upgrades big and small that will contribute to brighter, more welcoming spaces for students and teachers alike.

First, and perhaps most important, Room 106’s fixed, tiered seating has been adjusted to comply with guidelines found in the Americans with Disabilities Act. A ramp was added to make the tiers wheelchair accessible, and the seating is now movable to give the room more flexibility.

“In other buildings, where we’ve made these upgrades, the feedback has been tremendous,” Choate said. “You don’t realize the impact something like a chair has.”

The new chairs in the rooms have wheels and allow for storage underneath – making activities such as impromptu group work easier. Several whiteboards have been added to further support classroom interaction.

Additionally, the tables throughout both rooms are now powered to allow for charging in every section.

Other technological upgrades across both rooms include new projectors, speakers, cameras (for enhanced remote participation), teaching stations and improved wireless networking.

New lighting and climate controls will be active once work is completed. Lutron Controls provide an all-in-one smart system for regulating temperature during peak use times, as well as lighting aided by sensors and dimmers. This technology will also allow instructors to have full lighting control from the teaching station.

The system independently collects data that will provide the department with occupancy statistics, as well as create baselines for cooling and heating, Choate said. That has a notable impact on HVAC usage throughout the year.

“The controls are going to learn the room’s occupancy times, then get the room to a point of comfort and maintain it for those times,” Choate said. “And it won’t have to work as hard if it’s too hot or cold outside those peak times.”

Furthermore, every dimmer can save as much as 9% annually in electricity usage, which helps reduce UND’s carbon footprint, Choate said. For UND’s five buildings currently equipped with Lutron Controls, there’s a combined $200,000-plus in energy savings annually, according to Facilities Management. The savings can equate to 250 tons of CO2 emissions reduced annually – the equivalent of 50 gasoline passenger cars or 44 homes.

For a college that houses the Department of Earth System Science & Policy, as well as a Minor in Sustainability, that kind of change is a worthy investment, Bjerke said.

“We fully support whatever we can do to be more efficient,” she added.

The plan for Aerospace Sciences is to upgrade two to three classrooms each year in a similar fashion – introducing smart climate controls and more ways for the teaching spaces to be used.

These upgrades are being made possible through funding generated by differential tuition rates in the School’s aviation programs.

“Our ability to use those dollars to upgrade our teaching spaces and embrace new technologies were two of the main justifications for differential tuition,” Bjerke said.

“Some of the spaces will stay in a more traditional, lecture-style layout while others will be much more active. But we hope that they will all incorporate new technology, UND branding and most importantly ADA compliance and accessibility for all students and faculty.”

From the new floors to enhanced lighting and hand-painted wall graphics (courtesy of Facilities Management painter Matthew Korsmoe, who painstakingly measured and taped off the new accents’ 55-degree angles), The differences are night and day for Odegard Hall’s two newest classrooms, Choate said.

And in terms of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, the Department of Planning, Design & Construction works diligently to ensure the pillars of Learning, Equity, Affinity, Discovery and Service are part of all projects, he added.

“We’re always trying to evolve as the student body does,” Choate reflected. “As things change and as higher education faces challenges, we want to do everything we can to give students the best possible experience and training on campus.”

It all works toward a feeling of, “You’re here, you’re at UND.”