Keeping the grounds and historic campus buildings well-maintained is an ongoing priority for Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, and within the last year, the College has invested approximately $300,000 on these efforts, and $8 million has been invested over the last eight years.

Gordon Afdahl, vice president for finance and administration, said that some recent improvements would be obvious to students when they return to campus, but other improvements, while virtually invisible to most, are just as significant.

“Some projects, including window replacements in Le Fer Hall, are highly visible,” said Gordon Afdahl, vice president for financial affairs. ”Other projects, like replacing sewer pipes in the basement of Guerin Hall, practically no one outside of maintenance staff would see, but are critical to the daily operation of the campus.”

For the last five summers, the College has been working to replace windows in Le Fer Hall. To date, all windows have been replaced on the first floor, including the Le Fer Ballroom and the Sullivan Parlor. At the same time the patio doors and railings in the “Tower” rooms in the front of the building have been upgraded using a huge crane to reach the upper floors. The new windows and doors will help with energy efficiency, and they will enhance temperature control and comfort levels in these areas.

Bill Zink, director of facilities, is a new addition to the College staff and has been overseeing many of the College’s campus improvement projects. Zink, who started at SMWC on May 4, said the College hired several students to serve as painters this summer. Other summer projects were focused in the College’s Conservatory of Music building.

“Besides numerous rooms in Le Fer Hall, several other areas on campus received a fresh coat of paint to begin the new academic year,” Zink said. “Work was also done to upgrade the fire sprinkler system in the Conservatory of Music and also some plaster repair was done in several rooms of that building.”

The College’s grounds also received some attention. Each year the College makes it a priority to remove trees that have completed their life cycle. This past fall and spring, the College also planted several replacement trees near the Avenue and in close proximity to Le Fer Hall, and replacement planting has been planned as a part of the grounds’ normal upkeep.

In addition to the physical work that was done on the campus, the College also recently participated in a voluntary audit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Along with more than twenty higher education institutions in Indiana, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College voluntarily elected to undergo an audit under supervision of the United States Environmental Protection Agency,” Afdahl said. “Reasons for participation include the College’s concern of being a responsible entity in the world of limited resources, along with a waiver of penalties for any violations found during the audit.”

Afdahl said that, as a result of the EPA audit, and to comply with EPA standards, the College removed underground storage tanks with fuel for backup generators for Guerin and Le Fer halls and replaced them with above ground tanks.

In the past eight years, the College has invested $8 million in physical plant additions and improvements. No campus building has been without improvement, but nearly $2.4 million has been spent on Le Fer Hall alone. These improvements not only included central air conditioning for the north wing, but also new windows and doors, lighting upgrades, and improvements to the fire sprinkling system and safety exits.

An additional $2 million has been invested in other central heating and cooling systems on campus. As a major facility for science, the science labs of Hulman Hall were upgraded with a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment. As the hallmark of tradition to The Woods, The Conservatory of Music building has received more than $1 million in improvements, including roof and elevator replacements, electrical and lighting upgrades and restoration work in Cecilian Auditorium. In addition to the $8 million for the various building projects, $1.6 million has been spent on information technology.