Badgley renovation nears completion

By Dick Mason
The La Grande Observer

Published: March 25, 2004

The Observer/DICK MASON Eastern's new jewel: Randy Witten of Cove, a painter, examines a portion of Eastern Oregon University's new Huber Auditorium.

La Grande -- The proverbial bugles and drums will not sound for six months, but the completion of Eastern Oregon University's science center is fast approaching.

The center's Huber Auditorium and its renovated Badgley Wing will be completed by May 1 and open for use June 1, said Charles Arvidson of EOU, the construction project's manager.

The renovation of the Badgley Wing and the completion of Huber Auditorium are the final phases of the $33.5-million project. A ceremony celebrating completion will take place this fall.

Work on the science center started April 1, 2001.

"I am relieved and happy. It has been a long haul, but it has been pretty satisfying,'' Arvidson said

The centerpiece of the project is the 90,000-square foot science building that opened in 2003. A ceremony marking its opening took place Oct. 4. That building features 27 high-tech labs, a large greenhouse, many classrooms and a 7,500-square foot biotech lab.

The new science building is connected to Badgley Hall, EOU's old science building. Badgley, which has 30,000 square feet, has been extensively remodeled and will be used for a science office building.

Professors should like their new surroundings. Many of the offices have windows that face north and provide views of Mount Emily.

The offices provide one-third more space than the previous ones at Badgley, Arvidson said.

A number of program offices will be based at Badgley in addition to those of professors. Programs and centers to be based at Badgley include the following:

• An Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's fishery office and fish pathology lab.

• The Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing at EOU and an OHSU research complex.

• The Oregon State University agriculture program at EOU.

Huber Auditorium will be used for class lectures and presentations. The auditorium is named after David Huber, a 1974 EOU graduate who in 2001 donated $500,000 to the science center project and $100,000 for a physics and engineering scholarship endowment.

The new 150-seat auditorium has state-of-the-art projection, sound and lighting systems plus an assisted listening system for hearing-impaired people. Through an amplification system, hearing-impaired people can use headphones connected to a sound system that rebroadcasts the voice of a lecturer.

The renovated building will be known as Badgley Hall or the Badgley Wing, said Mindi McAllaster, EOU's director of development. A sign with the name will be placed at the entrance of the building.

Badgley Hall was named for Ralph Badgley, an Eastern science professor from 1931 to 1969 who was head of the division of science and mathematics. Badgley died May 3, 1979, at age 78.

Many of the classrooms, meeting rooms and labs at the science center will soon be named for people who donated money to the project. People making donations of at least $10,000 can have a portion of the center named for someone. About 70 percent of the space available for naming has been taken, McAllaster said.

Partners with EOU in the project include the OHSU nursing program, OSU's agriculture program, the ODFW and Portland State University's engineering program.

Contact Information

University Advancement Eastern Oregon University One University Boulevard La Grande, OR 97850 phone 541.962.3740 fax 541.962.3680 email University Advancement