EIU Media Relations

"Have Tote, Will Travel"
EIU School of Continuing Education Moves to "Permanent Temporary" Home

Less than five months ago, the staff of Eastern Illinois University's School of Continuing Education could do little but stand helplessly by as they watched fire consume the upper level of Blair Hall, their campus home.

Twenty-four hours later, however, those same employees could be seen sitting around long plain tables, folded out end-to-end to allow their occupants ample space in which to try and regroup. A large hand-made sign declared that the mint-green building known as Buzzard House was the school's new home -- albeit a temporary one.

"It was a difficult situation," said Dean Will Hine. "We needed to move and to move quickly, especially with the end of the semester coming up in about 10 days. And Buzzard House was available."

Available, yes. Desirable. . .not as much so. The building -- one of two campus structures slated for demolition - had sat vacant for nearly a year. Dirt and mold had established strongholds both inside and out, as had creatures of the creepy crawly kind. Work crews did their best to make the building habitable, but all involved knew Buzzard House could only be a temporary fix.

Four months later. . .

"I think this will work well for us," Hine declared, his eyes taking in the more pleasing space that his staff now calls home.

A week earlier, he and his staff had made yet another move. And now Eastern's School of Continuing Education seems settled in its new "permanent temporary" quarters, located at 700 West Lincoln. Approximately 25 Eastern employees, representing Eastern's Board of Trustees Program, the Office of Off-Campus and Contract Credit and the Center for Non-Credit Programs, share the space Eastern rents from Consolidated Communications.

"Have tote, will travel. That's us," Hine said, with the characteristically good-natured smile he continues to sport, despite even the fire. "The past few months have been stressful, yes. But we're getting settled now."

Hine said he "greatly appreciated" the efforts put forth by Jeff Cooley, vice president for business affairs, and Blair Lord , provost and vice president for academic affairs, in finding such a suitable location.

"They had several options, I believe, but not all those options fit the criteria," Hine said. "First of all, we needed a space that was large enough to hold a couple of the different units displaced by the Blair Hall fire.

"We also needed space that was easily accessible to the public and that was close to campus," he continued. "It's less than a mile to campus from here, and we're close to Art Park West (located next to Osco Drug), which is on the Panther Express (a student-oriented shuttle bus) circuit."

With on-campus office space at a premium, Eastern's School of Continuing Education seemed a logical choice for off-campus relocation. The majority of the school's students are older and many are enrolled in non-traditional courses at satellite sites throughout central and south-central Illinois. And most students have their own transportation when they do come to the university's campus.

"Our goal is to maintain the size and scope of our programs as they were before the fire," Hine said. "Fortunately, no student records were lost (as a result of the fire)."

Hine said he and his staff have turned their attention toward the future, and are excitedly working with the architect who has been hired to design a new interior for Blair Hall. The building's former residents hope to return "home" in January 2006.

"I won't say we're completely back to normal," Hine said. "There's still some sadness. My staff and I lost a lot of personal items, including photos and historic memorabilia."

Strangely enough, a clock being used before the fire seemingly suffered no ill effects from the blaze, smoke or water. It accompanied the staff to Buzzard House, and now resides with them at 700 W. Lincoln.

"We've taken our cue from that clock," Hine said. "Our second motto is We took a lickin', but we keep on tickin'."

Hours for the School of Continuing Education at its new site continue to be 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone numbers, as well as the school's Web site address (http://www.eiu.edu/adulted/), remain the same.

Interested persons may call (217) 581-6644 for information/details on all of the School of Continuing Education 's programs.