The College of Education, one of the largest colleges in New Mexico State University, is suffering from limited classroom selection during the remodeling of O’Donnell Hall.

According to Grace Martinez, department secretary of the College of Education, most faculty and staff offices in the college have been moved into Regents Row during the renovation of O’Donnell Hall, which formerly housed the College of Education. 

The Dean’s office and Educational Research and Budgeting have been relocated to the first floor of Branson Library, according to the College of Education website.
           
Classes in the College of Education have been spread out throughout the campus in buildings Martinez said she had never been into, as well as in various public schools off-campus.
           
“The hardest part of the whole renovation process of O’Donnell Hall has got to be the classrooms.  Finding appropriate classrooms to fit our needs.  We still have 18 classes that are being taught in inadequate rooms right now,” Martinez said.

Martinez said some students have asked to drop classes in the College of Education due to the stress of classes constantly being moved into different rooms because of classroom necessities.

“We need classrooms that will be able to accommodate us.  Lecture halls aren’t able to provide what professors and students need in College of Education classes.  We can’t teach in classrooms with chairs that are bolted to the floor,” Martinez said.

“There was a class that was taught outside near Regents Row until there was a suitable classroom found for the class,” Martinez explained.

When asked about how things were dealt with during the fire in O’Donnell Hall in December of 1999, Martinez explained the second story of the building was gutted, but there was not nearly as much chaos with classrooms and scheduling compared to now with the renovation of O’Donnell Hall.

“It was easier after the fire because we were able to schedule classes in rooms at Corbett Center,” Martinez explained

Not everyone is being terribly affected by the renovation, “I think the faculty are doing quite well with the change, it’s definitely a lot more stable for us compared to the students,” Carolyn Dietrich, an instructor in the College of Education said.

“I like my new office, I have a window now,” Martinez said.

Martinez pointed to the steel skeleton that was O’Donnell Hall, explaining where her old office was by pointing at a barely visible door in the remains of the third floor.

The construction of the new O’Donnell Hall is scheduled to last another two years.

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