UNK officials are planning to demolish the Memorial Student Affairs Building and vacate Thomas Hall. Both items were on the final budget recommendations made by the chancellor.
Paul Twigg, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the age, usage and condition of Thomas Hall contributed to the decision to vacate the building.
“If you’ve ever had a class in this building, you’d know that the classrooms in this building are not fantastic,” Twigg said. “The facilities people are not investing in upgrading those classrooms. Especially in the spring, if you wander through here, this building is not being well-used. There’s a lot of empty classrooms in this building for most of the time.”
According to UNK’s catalog website, Thomas Hall was constructed in the early 1900s and houses the dean’s office for the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the departments of English, modern languages and philosophy. The Memorial Student Affairs Building was constructed in 1956 and houses Student Health and Counseling. The two buildings would require renovations costing millions to remain in use.
Twigg said that the administration will move the departments in Thomas Hall to Copeland Hall, but plans are not final yet. Some departments in Copeland Hall may be moved to Bruner Hall, but these plans are also preliminary.
One student said that the English department would be affected by the move.
“I see why they’re planning on doing it, but as someone who’s very involved in the English department, there is a real sense of community that is tied to the student space we have there,” said Abby Trantham, a junior at UNK majoring in Secondary Language Arts Education. “I feel as though there would not be adequate student spaces for us in Copeland on top of all the other programs that are already in Copeland and already have their own spaces.”
The Memorial Student Affairs Building also has an office that would require relocation. Student Health and Counseling services are set to be moved to the Health Sciences Education Center II on the west side of campus.
A member of the administration said that the impact of the demolition of the Memorial Student Affairs Building would have minimal disadvantages since several offices have already been moved to other buildings.
“The one drawback is it was very centrally located on the campus,” said George Holman, associate vice chancellor of student affairs. “But I think we’re going to be in a better place to serve students with where offices have moved to.”
Twigg said that there is not yet a final timeline for when Thomas Hall will be vacated.
“The latest that I’ve heard is that the people from facilities had to delay,” Twigg said. “It was supposed to be this summer. Depending on how things are going, it could be fall of 2027 or a tiny bit later.”
