Students returning from summer break can expect some alterations on campus.
The new residence halls, Chester and Sassafras, will be complete on July 15, the temporary dining hall will be open, and certain sections of campus will be closed off.
Construction has continued, even on weekends, in order to keep up with the schedule and to have the dorms completed in time for students' return.
"We are working right now on getting the buildings closed up," said Physical Plant Director Reid Raudenbush.
All of the windows in Chester have been installed and they are getting ready to do the same for Sassafras.
After the inside walls are complete, Raudenbush said that they would then be able to "bring in the finishing tradesmen to work on carpeting and tiling floors."
The new parking lot for the dorms will also be paved and marked.
As for the rest of the campus construction, the big change will be the dining hall. At the end of the summer the temporary dining hall will be running and Hodson Hall will have been torn down.
Some concern was expressed by students that the temporary dining hall didn't appear as structurally sound as the brick building of Hodson, but Raudenbush said not to worry.
"The temporary dining hall is a strong steel structure bolted to concrete and if you drive around Chestertown you'll see many similar buildings. If you still want proof that it'll stand up to the weather take a look at the Lifetime Fitness Center. It's the same building structure, only with a brick face covering the front, and its been here since the 1970s," said Raudenbush.
Because construction will be taking place on the dining hall, Kent Circle will be shut down as well as Kent House. Renovation on Kent will take place later on in the year, but right now Raudenbush said that, "they want to keep it available in case the incoming class is more than housing can handle and extra rooms are needed."
He added that this probably will not be the case and is just an extra precaution.
300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, Maryland 21620 | 410-778-2800 | 800-422-1782