HA, 8/5/05

http://hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050805/NEWS01/508050302/1002

USM continues construction as fall semester approaches
CFO Lassen says good progress has been made


Students returning to the University of Southern Mississippi may spend a good part of the fall semester dodging construction barriers.

That, however, should soon give way to an array of aesthetic and functional improvements, officials say.

"The big plan is to get a lot of work done in the summer," Chief Financial Officer Gregg Lassen said. "We have a little bit of an advantage over other companies in that most of our clients go away for a few months. We try to get much of it done, but the logistical challenge of fitting a year's work into two months is pretty difficult."...

...Lassen also said the university has installed several new light fixtures and street signs, renaming five of the primary streets on campus with more university-oriented names.

But the big projects ... are all still in the works...

...The other projects, which are more extensive have completion dates down the line. But two of them, the student union and restaurant projects, should be open by early 2006.

"I envision this becoming a place to see and be seen," Lassen said of the area in the heart of campus. "It's a place where students will be able to go get books, grab a coffee at Starbucks and sit on the patio."...

Postlewate said more donations to the Trent Lott Center have allowed certain finer details, including marble floors, that were left out of the original bid package.

"When we awarded this, we negotiated out some of the finishes knowing we would put them back eventually," he said. "We are currently modifying the contract to get those back.

"It now represents a first-class, first-floor," Postlewate said.

Postlewate said the project still calls for finishing only the first floor, but future contributions are expected to bring in enough to fund the project before its planned completion date.