Industry News


Nureva HDL300 audio conferencing system

Campus Facilities

Athens State University Adds Nureva Audio Systems to Classrooms

Athens State University, located in Athens, Ga., recently installed Nureva HDL300 audio conferencing systems in almost 30 classrooms on campus.

University Construction

NC State Enters Phase 4 of Greek Housing Project

North Carolina State University is partnering with KWK Architects and Jenkins-Peer Architects for Phase 4 of its five-phase Greek Village Master Plan. Infrastructure work is in progress for a new apartment building and two new townhouse units.

Student well-being webinar

Webinar

VS America to Discuss How Physical Spaces Impact Student Well-Being

VS America, a full-service manufacturer of school and office furniture, will host a webinar on Friday, March 19, discussing the opportunities and obstacles facing students as they return to school. The conversation will feature four panelists and focus on the impact of physical learning spaces on students’ mental and emotional well-being.

Campus Facilities

School Specialty Announces More Than 100 New Furniture Products

The Wisconsin-based School Specialty, LLC, has released more than 100 new furniture products underneath two new brands, Classroom Select and Childcraft.

COVID-19 and Schools

In Prep for Re-Entry, Boston Schools Invest in Window Repair, Replacements

Throughout the month of March, Boston Public Schools is expanding the number of students it brings back into classrooms for in-person instruction.

COVID-19 and Schools

Classroom Purifier Cuts Infection Risks in Half—Same as Opening Windows

A study in two South Korean high schools found that window ventilation reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection by 55%, while the use of an air purifier shrank the risk by 50%. The combination of the two dropped the risk by nearly three-quarters (73%). Researchers from the Infrastructure Safety department at the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) said the use of the air-purifying device worked best when it was placed in the middle of the room, which was sized to hold about 25 students.

Campus Facilities

Tutt Construction to Upgrade Wyoming High School's Bleachers

At its meeting in early March, the Sheridan County School District 2 in Sheridan, Wyo., awarded a bid for new bleachers to Tutt Construction Inc. of Billings, Mont. The total bid for the project, including delivery and installation of the new bleachers at Sheridan High School, was $147,000.

Renovation

Vermont High School Relocates to Former Macy's

Burlington High School, located in Burlington, Vt., has reopened its doors—on a slightly unconventional new campus. After a whirlwind 10-week renovation process, the downtown Cherry Street building that formerly served as a Macy’s department store is now ready to welcome BHS students and faculty to their new home.

Renovations

Ann Arbor Schools to See $63M in AC, Lighting Upgrades

The Ann Arbor School Board in Ann Arbor, Mich., approved $63 million in funding for air conditioning and lighting renovations at 13 schools in the district, as well as contracts for future architectural and engineering projects.

Wave energy testing facility

Energy

Oregon State University to Move Forward with Wave Energy Project

Federal energy regulators have given Oregon State University permission to move forward with PacWave South, an offshore wave energy testing facility.

COVID-19 and Schools

Universities See Quarantine, Isolation Spaces Begin to Fill

Many universities around the country have designated certain campus residence halls as temporary housing for students in coronavirus-related quarantine or isolation. And some universities are starting to see these spaces fill up quickly.

Mohawk Chromascope design

Flooring

Mohawk Adds Four Designs to LVT Collection

The Mohawk Group has announced the expansion of its Luxury Vinyl Tile (LVT) line, Living Local, with four new styles.

Renovation

Michigan Regional Theater to Renovate Historic School Building

The Encore Theatre Company, a nonprofit theater group in Dexter, Mich., is raising money to renovate its new performance space—a historic school building downtown.

Construction

Illinois High School Approves $75M Gym Upgrade

The school board of the New Trier High School Winnetka campus, located in Winnetka, Ill., has unanimously approved plans to construct a new gymnasium. The $75 million project involves demolishing the existing gym, which was built in 1928, and replacing it with a new, state-of-the-art facility better suited for the school’s current size and athletics programs.

HVAC

Georgia Schools Add Ionization Devices to HVAC Systems

The Bibb County School District in Macon, Ga., announced in a press release that it will be adding needlepoint bi-polar ionization devices to the HVAC systems in each of its schools.

Winter storm

Winter Storm

Austin ISD Surveys Damage After Winter Storm

Austin Independent School District (AISD) officials in Austin, Texas, spent last week walking through schools and surveying the aftermath of the recent wave of winter storms. The verdict: Ninety of the district’s 130 schools were affected, and the total damage is estimated at about $15 million.

Smart locker

Campus Facilities

Quadient Nearly Doubles Number of Smart Locker Installations in U.S. During 2020

Quadient has become the second-largest provider of parcel locker solutions worldwide after it reached 13,000 installation sites and more than 600,000 lockers overall during FY2020. During the first nine months of the fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31, 2021, the company reported a 78% increase in the number of packages delivered to its smart lockers.

Professor Randall Ellingson receives grant from U.S. Air Force

Solar Energy

U Toledo Developing Solar Sheets to Generate Power in Space

The University of Toledo just received a five-year, $12.5 million grant from the U.S. Air Force to develop flexible solar cell sheets for space. The photovoltaic energy sheets will be used to collect solar energy for powering Earth-based receivers or other orbital or aerial instrumentation, such as communications satellites.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity

Audits Reveal Cybersecurity Weaknesses in New York School Districts

The Office of the New York State Comptroller has completed audits on three school districts in the state. The audits uncovered that the districts have neglected to follow some crucial cybersecurity policies, leaving them potentially vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Renovations

Oakwood Schools to Receive New HVAC System

One of the only remaining components of the $18 million Oakwood City Schools renovation project in Dayton, Ohio, is the installation of a brand-new HVAC system for the high school/junior high building. Currently, about half of the 97-year-old building is running on a new system, and the other half still uses an outdated, steam-heated network, according to school district Operations Coordinator Todd Scott.

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