Damaged campus buildings and facilities transformed from shattered to fixed following the June 11 tornado that touched down on the K-State campus. President Jon Wefald said all buildings and facilities should be restored to working order by Aug. 15. The tornado caused $22 million in damage on campus.
"Our immediate goal is to make repairs that will keep our buildings dry in case of rain," said Bruce Shubert, associate vice president for administration and finance. "Another priority is removing storm debris so pedestrians and traffic can safely move around campus."
Facilities personnel blocked traffic at several campus entrances Thursday and Friday so work could be done. Classes were canceled on Thursday and started again on Friday. Due to the severe damage to some buildings, 18 classes had to be reassigned to temporary locations. Students were notified by a university-wide e-mail and the information was posted on the K-State Web site.
"We will endeavor to return all classes to their originally assigned locations as soon as possible, and we will reassess the situation on Monday to ascertain which classrooms now under repair have been made safe and ready for classes to return to them," said Duane Nellis, provost and senior vice president.
Campus buildings that received the most amount of damage include: Weber Hall, Waters Hall, Durland Hall, Rathbone Hall, Fiedler Hall, Call Hall, Cardwell Hall and Ward Hall.
Ward Hall, which is home to K-State's nuclear reactor, remained secure, said Mo Hosni, head of K-State's department of mechanical and nuclear engineering.
"The K-State reactor manager reported the tornado damage to the building to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about 12:30 a.m., Thursday," Hosni said.
Hosni said officials were pleased with how the reactor weathered.
The USDA-ARS Wind Erosion Research Unit sustained severe damage but remained intact and operational. Located directly next to the wind erosion lab is a parking/equipment garage that was completely destroyed. John Tatarko, soil scientist at the wind erosion lab, said the loss of research was minimal.
"We have already progressed significantly on the cleanup of the damage and hope to continue our focus on research," Tatarko said.
Safety concerns also arose when news of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house reported its roof had been blown off. No fraternity members were injured during the storm. City crews worked all day Thursday lifting the roof off of Denison Street.
"Charlie Hostetler, SAE adviser said the SAE house will be back up and running this fall," said Pat Bosco, associate vice president and dean of student life.
The summer's wild weather is not isolated to the state of Kansas. University campuses in Iowa and Illinois are now facing high floodwaters, and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said this year, 175 tornados have touched down around our state.
Following the storm, many local and surrounding-area volunteers have donated their time to help with the Manhattan and campus cleanup. When students do come back to school in the fall, the campus facilities and campus buildings should be fully restored.
