ISU Bengal

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Samantha Evans Administration officials say the Rendezvous Center has performed as planned during its first six months of operation.

After more than six months of operation, the Rendezvous Center is functioning as planned and meeting the expectations of the faculty and students who use the building, according to administration officials.

When the Rendezvous first opened in August 2007, a lot of things were expected of this massive and complex new building on campus. Problems surfaced as soon as the building opened, however, such is common with buildings the size of the Rendezvous, according to Darrell Buffaloe, Associate Vice President of Facilities Services.

"The Rendezvous is the largest and most complex building in the state of Idaho," Buffaloe said. "It has problems like any new building".

Fixing the problems was even more of a challenge because for the first year the building is open, everything is under warranty. Buffaloe said if anyone tried to fix a problem in the building then the warranty would be voided and the University would have to pay for any repairs needed.

The third floor of the Rendezvous that was once unfinished now has classes and offices and more will be added over the summer. The Math 108 computer labs moved to the third floor at the beginning of this semester from their previous location in the Owen Redfield dorms. The faculty Senate also has a new office on that floor as well.

According to Lee Krehbiel, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, the Center for Teaching and Learning will also be moving to the third floor over the summer, which will house the math center and the writing lab.

There are no other plans currently in the works to add anything more to the Rendezvous center, but Krehbiel said that funds are still trying to be found to buy the projection equipment to complete the planetarium so it could be used as it was intended.

The first semester that the Rendezvous was open was not without its problems. The overall function and performance of the building, however, has been meeting the expectations of all that teach, live and learn in it.

"To have faculty members conversing with students was one of the major goals for the building," said Lowell Richards, Executive Director of Student Unions and Involvement.

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