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Sources:
David Hartnett, 785-532-5925, dchart@k-state.edu;
and Eva Horne, 785-532-5929, ehorne@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/konza/
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415
Monday,
February 20, 2006
ALUMNUS'
GIFT, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION GRANT HELPING RENOVATE K-STATE
KONZA PRAIRIE BARN
MANHATTAN
--Kansas State University is giving an old barn at the Konza
Prairie Biological Station a second life thanks to the generosity
of an alumnus and other funding sources.
A
historic limestone barn on the native tallgrass prairie preserve
south of Manhattan will be renovated to make more room for research
scientists, K-State students and the several thousand elementary
and secondary students from throughout Kansas who visit the Konza
Prairie annually.
During
the past decade, K-State has added a library, laboratory and housing
for visiting scientists, said David Hartnett, professor of biology
and former Konza director. But Hartnett said the additions haven't
kept up with the growing use of the facility. The Konza has become
a premier grasslands research center, attracting students and scientists
from around the world, he said.
"We've
really been short on meeting space because we host a lot of workshops
and run education programs," Hartnett said. "Many involve
outdoor activities, but we still need space indoors for workshops,
teaching labs and public presentations."
With
grants and gifts totaling $707,000, K-State's Division of Facilities'
planning is working out the details of renovating the 10,000-square-foot
barn. Hartnett said construction is expected to begin later this
year. The project will renovate the barn's main floor and lay the
groundwork for future renovation on the upper floor.
Eva
Horne, Konza interim director and K-State assistant professor of
biology, said renovation to the barn's main floor will provide a
large, all-purpose classroom where both K-State students and visiting
elementary and secondary students could examine specimens collected
in the field.
An
auditorium on the barn's main floor seating about 100 visitors will
allow larger conferences than does the Konza's existing meeting
room, which has a capacity of about 30. Horne said kitchen facilities
added to the main floor will allow K-State to serve conference-goers
without relying heavily on outside catering. Restrooms also will
be added to the main floor.
Horne
said K-State will work to raise more money to partition the upper
floor to offer more classroom, laboratory and library space in the
future. Because of the donations coming into the Konza's collection,
more library space is becoming necessary. More laboratory space
is needed to supplement the site's crowded laboratory building.
In
1996, K-State completed structural renovation on the barn, replacing
the roof and restoring some of the historic cottonwood timbers,
Hartnett said.
"Our
hope is to retain the appearance and the historical character of
the barn and to focus on energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly
design," he said.
The
bulk of the funding for the current project comes from a $300,000
gift to the Kansas State University Foundation to establish the
Rushton G. Cortelyou Memorial Fund for the 94-year-old barn's renovation.
Cortelyou was a 1927 K-State graduate in civil engineering. The
fund is in honor of his father, John Van Zandt Cortelyou, a K-State
faculty member from 1909-1934.
In
addition, Hartnett was awarded a $250,000 grant for improvement
of research facilities from the National Science Foundation. K-State's
Division of Biology contributed $157,000 toward the barn renovation.
The
Konza Prairie Biological Station is co-owned by K-State and The
Nature Conservancy and is run by K-State's Division of Biology.
However, research at the Konza involves six K-State colleges and
15 departments, as well as universities in other states and countries.
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