Electrical Issues

The library replaced two high-voltage electrical feeder switches earlier this month. During a routine inspection, it was found that the switches had deficiencies that needed to be attended to. The new switches that were installed are expected to last up to 30 years. The previous units will then be repaired and used as backups, according to the Daily 49er.

The two units cost the university $50,000, but saved money in the long run. The school caught the problem and fixed it in a timely manner. "Both USC and Long Beach City College blew out transformers after warnings about anticipated problems, and LBCC ended up with a tab of about $400,000," Chuck Ward, of Chuck's Electric, said. "At least [CSULB] follows up."

This is just another piece to the puzzle in the renovations that the library is going through. For the entire article click here: http://media.www.daily49er.com/media/storage/paper1042/news/2007/10/02/News/Library.Replaces.Defective.Switches-3004896.shtml

Energy Crisis

For the past couple of years, Californians have heard a lot about how we are in the middle of an energy crisis. According to CSULB's website, in September the school finished lending its helping hand to the state by installing 800 solar panels along the rooftop of Brotman Hall.

"One is in the canopies of covered parking in Facilities Management, which will provide 100 kilowatts of power during peak generation periods. The other is a 225-kilowatt array on the roof of Brotman Hall, which will take care of 80 percent to 90 percent of the building's peak demand periods," explains Tim Ball, associate director of Facilities Management.

The installations of these panels show the efforts that the school is taking to make a difference. The energy crisis is not going away, and now as a community within the school, we are all lending our hand in helping.

In an effort to be compliant with the governor's and the CSU's executive orders, as well as fulfill the ambitions of our Associated Students and other organizations within the CSU, we are attempting to do our part to fulfill our energy objectives," he said.

For the full article, check out the following link:
http://karl.papubs.csulb.edu/news-events/story.cfm?hackid=846

Brooks College

Last week I introduced the idea that President F. King Alexander wanted to increase student living on campus. According to the CSULB website, the university announced in August that they will be buying Brooks College for their expansion."Acquiring the five-acre site allows us to more immediately address this growing need while also providing greater flexibility to expand academic course offerings and programming," said Alexander.

This transition will take place in the 2009, when Brooks college will close. At the moment, there are about 200 CSULB students who are living on the Brooks College campus. At the time of its closure and complete take over by CSULB, school officials plan on increasing that number to 700.

According to the CSULB website, by using this site to add more student living, it will be saving more money in the long run. "In fact, the total cost of this project will be less than one-third what it would cost to build new student housing for 700 students," said Bill Griffith, CSULB's vice president of administration and financing.

For more on this topic, check out the following link:
http://karl.papubs.csulb.edu/news-events/story.cfm?hackid=834

New President, New Buildings

I'm sure that all of you have noticed all of the construction going on around campus. There are new renovations going on around every corner. All of this construction is coming with our new college president. According to the Daily 49er, our president has big plans coming along with his new status.

Last spring, President F. King Alexander started adding to the dorms on campus. “The amount of students living on campus is way below the average for an institution of our size,” Alexander said. By adding this additional room for incoming and continuous students, it expands the among of students that are being turned away by not being able to have a dorm to live in.

For more information on this story check out the following website from The Daily 49er: http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/archives/2006/summer/news/v12n128-alexander.shtml

More to come from the president, as well as the construction team themselves, in upcoming posts. Until next time...