Renovations Provide a Fresh Look for First Floor of DeMoss Hall

With hopes of drawing people together to form a greater communal atmosphere and communicating the academic and professional opportunities that experiences in research and scholarship can bring, the first floor of DeMoss Hall went through a remodeling process that began in late June of 2016 through the middle of January 2018.

Brad Barber, director of Design and Renovation-Construction with Facilities Management, said the contrast between the Montview Student Union and DeMoss Hall prior to the renovation process of DeMoss Hall was quite pronounced. While the Montview Student Union presented a bright and fresh look, DeMoss Hall was dark in comparison, according to Barber.

“There was a lot of old décor, a lot of old finishes, seating that really needed to be replaced, (and it) was not in great condition,” Barber said.

With all the traffic that the student union attracts both from current students and prospective students, the DeMoss Hall facilities were due for a facelift.

“You have the student union that is a student activities hub,” Barber said. “And adjacent to it, you have the academic hub of the university in DeMoss Hall … Everybody is coming here.”

In addition to the renovations of two large classrooms, rooms 1286 and 1284, the Provost’s Office desired to implement more technology and display areas to showcase students’ achievements.

The Provost Office and Assistant Vice Provost for Quality Enhancement of Undergraduate Education Elisa Rollins, who originally came up with the vision for the first floor of DeMoss Hall, presented their vision to Charles Spence, the vice president of Facilities Management, Barber and the design team, who executed the idea.

“It’s been a great opportunity to work with a department that has so much expertise and can help guide us along the way,” Rollins said. “We’ve had a good time. I feel like they caught the vision and understood what we were wanting to go for.”

With all the renovations in DeMoss Hall, Rollins hopes to showcase academic opportunities available to students and showcase student achievements more than anything else.

“We have a few features left,” Rollins said. “We have the MultiAction TV, which is the touch TV. … that is being finished in the next two weeks. We (also) have a couple pieces of furniture coming in.”

As the vision for DeMoss Hall began coming to life, so did partnerships with in-house departments. Information Technology worked with all the technology, including installing the cameras, lighting, projection and the MultiAction and display TVs.

CASAS, the Career Center, Liberty University Cabinet Shop, Renovation-Construction, Design and Drafting and many other Facilities Management teams had a part in remodeling the first floor of DeMoss Hall. Liberty University Plumbing replaced the water fountains and Liberty University Sprinkler team changed the sprinkler systems from a black chrome color to white. The Ceilings & Flooring team replaced all the black ceiling tiles and support grid with white.

“I want our students to know that we have spent hours and hours trying to come up with a space that would benefit them,” Rollins said.

For convenience, several charging stations with cords catering to a variety of mobile devices have been set up in various locations, such as along The Brink — the area that connects the two large classrooms on the first floor, DH 1286 and 1284.

There are also four to five spaces on the first floor for vendors, such as industry employers seeking interns and future employees, to set up tables to connect with students passing from DeMoss Hall to the Montview Student Union.

Everything that has been renovated and changed has gone through a process of approval to determine whether it aligns with the goals and visions of the project, which must align with the goals and mission of Liberty.

“Whenever we go into a project, we try to guide it by university standards,” Barber said.

By the end of the project everything should obviously align with the university’s personality.

To relay feedback or communicate ideas for the first floor of DeMoss Hall, email the Center for Research & Scholarship at crs@liberty.edu.