By JAYCIE DOERR News3 Executive Producer & WC Editor-in-Chief
MACOMB, Illinois (News3 & WC) – As Tillman Hall closes at Western Illinois University, meteorology, geographic information systems (GSI), and geology students are facing a move to buildings on the north side of campus.
“They are going to a number of different buildings. So some of those are going into Currens, some are likely to go to Waggoner,” Troy Rhoads, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Management, said. “We have some going into Simkins. Some folks are going into Memorial Hall.”
Rhoads said that with the shutdown of Tillman, there will be a reshuffling of departments as meteorology, GSI, and geology students make the move to the south side of campus.
“They are having to move or relocate within other buildings across campus, because the space that they are in needs to be allocated to the people that are leaving Tillman,” Rhoads said.
The Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Administration (RPTA) will be moving from Currens hall to Knoblaugh. As this move occurs, WIU said they are trying to keep colleges and departments together.
While students in Tillman are unenthusiastic, students who are in Currens and Waggoner are also disgruntled about having more students crowd their hallways.
Forensic psychology student Oliver Rule said Waggoner hallways are full of students in the peak of the day.
“I understand why they’re closing down the building, but I feel like it is going to cramp these builds very much,” Rule said.
Forensic chemistry student Logan Banard said that Currens Hall already hosts many majors, such as physics, chemistry majors, nursing, and RPTA.
“I feel like it is already packed full and there isn’t a lot of space for the four majors there,” Barnard said.
Overall, Rhoads said this move will work because there are nearly 4 million square feet of buildings on campus, most of it underutilized due to the current enrollment.
