Robertsons delay campus building

Robertson Scholars will have to wait a few more years before they can have an on-campus building to call their own.

Tony Brown president of the Robertson Scholars Program said plans to construct a free-standing building at UNC are on hold.

Last spring program officials announced plans to have the building completed by 2010. Now starting the project will be delayed for two to three years" Brown said.

""The decision to put the project on hold is a combination of two things" Brown said. As the program is growing we're unsure about our needs" and the cost of the facility was going up significantly.""

The Robertson Scholars Program provides full-tuition scholarships for students to take classes at both UNC and Duke University.

Brown said the program had already invested money in plans and design for the facility.

""We hope to use the same plans for the facility once we are ready to move forward again with building" Brown said.

One of the issues holding up the project is the added expense of building according to U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines.

We value environmental issues" Brown said. We want to make a statement about our commitment to the environment.""

Brown said he thinks the University will hold the land near the Ackland Art Museum for the project until the program is ready to proceed with construction.

In the meantime" there are plans to improve the UNC Robertson facilities at Graham Memorial Hall" he said.

""We're going to paint and add book space to make the area more scholar-oriented so they can have a place to come hang out"" Brown said.

The free-standing building was originally pitched as a way to give the program more of an identity.

Harrison Lee, a Robertson Scholar at Duke, said he thinks the program is cramped in Graham Memorial.

Having the new building at UNC would have given us more space for outreach and special events"" Lee said.

Sofia Wilson, a UNC Robertson Scholar, said she doesn't mind the project's delay.

From what I understand it was pretty expensive for us right now"" Wilson said.

It's probably best that the money be used elsewhere until we're ready to move forward with a new facility.""



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