Loyola conducts space audit

Students+walk+in+front+of+Marquette+Hall.+Loyola+is+partnering+with+Ochsner+to+create+an+undergraduate+nursing+program.

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Students walk in front of Marquette Hall. Loyola is partnering with Ochsner to create an undergraduate nursing program.

Cristian Orellana

From Mercy Hall to the the buildings on Broadway, every Loyola space is currently set to have a complete evaluation of its use of space conducted this year.

President Tania Tetlow requested that the university conduct an audit project analyzing all spaces on campus.

“The space audit is designed to identify underutilized spaces,” interim provost Maria Calzada said. “What we learn from the audit will allow us to better plan our space utilization in the near future.

A space audit is a snapshot, or capture, of the areas in a building or structure used to evaluate the accuracy, efficiency and utility of spaces.

According to the Facilities Planning Committee, it is currently the responsibility of the deans of each college to allocate space within their departments and space allocation across departments is left up to the committee.

“Going forward, we need to review our committee charge. We need guidance on the committee’s charge from the President,” the committee said in its Nov. 9 meeting minutes.

Additionally, the university has rearranged the locations of certain offices on campus in the past year, including the Student Success Center which moved to Monroe Library. Some of the moves have resulted in unused spaces.

“We expect that most of the underutilized space is in the form of unused office space and meeting space that resulted from moves or from faculty/staff no longer at the institution,” Calzada said.

According to Calzada, the university does not expect students to experience any negative effects from the university’s analysis of its space.

“We expect that we will find space that can be repurposed as classroom/seminar room space for example, which will benefit students,” Calzada said.

The space audit has already been completed for Bobet, Marquette and Stallings halls. Mercy Hall is next on the list.