The Dean of Students Office, Student Counseling Services and other occupants of the Student Services Building will be moving this week to Pearson Hall to allow for renovation and asbestos removal in the building.

Dean of Students Kathleen MacKay said the basement and ground floors of the Student Services Building will be undergoing complete renovation.

The second and third floors will not be completely renovated but will be getting new carpet and paint, and some of the walls will be moved.

The temporary move, which will last for a year, also was planned to enable the asbestos abatement that has begun in the basement to be finished without endangering anyone.

MacKay said there is no danger for the people who are working upstairs in the building, but a few staff members were having reactions due to the odor.

Roger Graden, project manager for the renovation, said the Department of Environmental Health and Safety performed tests in the building to determine why people were becoming ill.

“All of the tests concluded that nothing was above the normal levels,” Graden said.

“It was never determined what the people were having a reaction to,” he said, “but for their comfort it was decided to move the whole office.”

Although it is not unusual for buildings as old as the Student Services Building to contain asbestos, there are strict guidelines for the removal of asbestos that have been followed, MacKay said.

This is the second asbestos removal project in the last month in the campus area.

The former Phi Delta fraternity house, 325 Welch Ave., was sealed off May 10 after asbestos was discovered during a remodeling project.

The removal of asbestos is a common phase of remodeling, Graden said.

“This is a standard course for us,” he said. “Whenever we go in to remodel a building, we remove the asbestos.”

Graden said there is asbestos in many forms, such as floor tiles and pipe insulation, in other parts of the building.

He said the Department of Environmental Health and Safety has done surveys of all of the buildings on campus and knows which buildings contain asbestos.

The move, originally scheduled for next week, was moved forward to allow the relocating department to get settled before summer school and orientation are in full swing.

Graden said moving the offices to Pearson actually will decrease the cost of the project; it was going to be a multiphase remodeling but now can be completed all at once since the building will be empty.

MacKay said the relocation is a small price to pay for the remodeling.

“We’re looking forward to the renovation of Student Services Building because it will assist us in providing a better environment for students and our staff to provide services to students,” she said.

In its new locations in Pearson, the Dean of Students Office will be located on the first floor and Student Services will be located on the ground level.

MacKay said all of the phone numbers will remain the same for office staff, and mail will be forwarded to the temporary location.