SIUE negotiates leasing Birger Hall

Elizabeth Grimsley
News Reporter

The Office of Public Affairs is in the process of striking a lease agreement with the SIUE Foundation for office space in B. Barnard Birger Hall.

Vice Chancellor for Development and Public Affairs Patrick Williams said the agreement is still being negotiated but is necessary for news services and other public affairs offices to operate in the new space.

The lease agreement will call for the public affairs office to rent the space it has occupied in Birger Hall since December. Williams could not say when the agreement might be reached.

"That building is owned by the SIUE Foundation," Vice Chancellor for Administration Ken Neher said, "which means that they are not owned by the university or funded by the state. That's why they'll have to pay to be there."

Neher described the action as not unprecedented though he was not aware of any other university office that pays for the space it occupies on campus. Williams said public affairs has been moved in an effort to unify the offices under his control.

"By moving these offices closer we are building more of a team atmosphere, promoting face-to-face communication and saving travel time for myself since my office was already located in Birger Hall," Williams said.

Neher said the idea to move an office out of Rendleman Hall came from the need for space in academic buildings.

"We were feeling pressure from the academic buildings because there are nonacademic offices in those buildings which take space that could be used for classrooms or other academic needs," he said.

The space in Rendleman Hall has been empty since December, but Associate Provost David Sill has written a proposal to move academic recruiting out of Peck Hall and into the available space.

"The recruiting office wouldn't fill the empty space in Rendleman," Sill said. "They would rearrange offices in that building and make a new space for the recruiting office."

According to Sill, the available space in Peck Hall would be filled by the social work department, a move that would allow that department to receive accreditation.

The proposal was sent to Chancellor David Werner for approval.

Ultimately, Neher said the move will help to unify offices under Williams and ease the pressure caused by the lack of space in academic buildings.

"The benefits of this move outweigh the costs," Neher said.