Morrill Hall is due for a $9 million renovation, which could begin in the summer of 2004.

$4.6 million has been raised through private donations by the ISU Foundation so far, said Kerry Dixon-Fox, project coordinator for ISU Facilities and Planning Management.

“Everything is contingent upon funds being raised,” Dixon-Fox said.

The renovation will fix extensive damage to the building.

Morrill Hall is not in great shape, Dixon-Fox said. There is water damage due to leaks, and broken windows throughout the building.

“We have one room we refer to as Jumanji,” Dixon-Fox said. “The vines grew in through the window, and now they cover the walls.”

A lot of work must be done before the hall can reopen, she said.

ISU Facilities and Planning Management is working with RDG Bussard Dikis Architects Interiors and Planning to create a schematic design for the building, said Scott Sankey of RDG.

“Right now we’re in the pre-design programming phase,” Sankey said. “We’re working with the user groups slated to use the building to identify spaces and physical requirements needed in the building.”

The schematic design prepared by RDG will be presented to the Iowa Board of Regents this fall, Dixon-Fox said.

Once the design is approved and the funds are raised, a bid for the project will be made and construction should begin in summer of 2004, she said.

Sankey said brick and stone restoration is needed, and the roof needs to be replaced as well.

The building will be adapted to fit the needs of the new Christian Petersen Art Museum, the new Center for Visual Learning in Textiles and Clothing and the Center for Teaching Excellence, said Dixon-Fox.

University classrooms will also be present in the updated Morrill Hall.

The Christian Petersen Art Museum will be a two-gallery museum in Petersen’s legacy, said Lynette Pohlman, director of university museums. Petersen was Iowa State’s and the nation’s first artist in residence on a college campus.

“The point of the museum is to provide student access at the pulse of the university,” Pohlman said.

Students will be able to display their work in a convenient place for others to view it, she said.

The new Center for Visual Learning in Textiles and Clothing is a new project as well, said Mary Gregoire, professor and chair of apparel education studies and hospitality management.

There are to be four components of the center, she said. There will be a historic costume collection, a conservation laboratory space, classrooms and gallery space where students can display their work.

“I’m very excited [about the center],” Gregoire said. “We hope to provide an even better learning environment than we have now.”

The Center for Teaching Excellence will also be housed by Morrill Hall, Dixon-Fox said.

The Center for Teaching Excellence is currently located in the Lab of Mechanics, said Corly Brooke, associate vice provost for undergraduate programs and director of the Center for Teaching Excellence.

“[The Lab of Mechanics] is a very obscure and inconvenient location for faculty access,” she said.

The mission of the center is to promote learning and the scholarship of teaching at Iowa State, Brooke said.

The center offers advice, resources, forums for discussions and support for continued learning, she said.

“We are extremely pleased to be included in the plans for Morrill Hall,” Brooke said. “This will give us a new central location, provide updated facilities for faculty development and provide convenient access.”

Morrill Hall was built in 1891 and has been vacant since 1997.