Plans are underway to renovate Tinsley Hall into a student center of activity.

The university administration will be expanding the Center for Student Excellence to the second floor of the hall, and provide a computer lab for students on the first floor.

In addition to these efforts, the building that is over 60 years old is intended to be outfitted with all new windows, which will replace the original and inefficient, single-paned ones.

“Thanks to a combination of state funds and funding from the SGA, there will be space to focus on individual tutoring, as well as tutoring for small and large groups,” said Kenneth Howe, director of facility planning. “Configuration of a computer lab for students on the first floor of Tinsley is also part of the plan to make Tinsley a student-centric hub on campus.”

The involvement of the Student Government Association to make the project possible reaffirms the association’s repeated commitment to the building and its annex.

“The Subway Café space was renovated in 2016, and thanks to funding from the SGA, picnic tables and high-top tables were also added to the exterior of the annex area,” stated Howe. “SGA also assisted with funding for creation of the Tinsley Student Lounge as a study and meeting space in the corner of campus that houses a significant number of academic classrooms.”

Virginia Adelmann, professor of mathematics, has witnessed the function of the hall change many times in the past.

“During the ‘90s, math classes were taught in Tinsley Hall,” recalled Adelmann. “The building was originally classroom space. The large room on the west end of the building housed the first computer that Southeastern had. It pretty much took up the entire room. That was in the early to mid-1960s. The annex building was history department faculty offices.”

The hall, originally named after university president Gladney J. Tinsley, has also served to house business classes and various faculty offices in the past. Adelmann said that the annex was the former seat of the College of Basic Studies.

De’Borah Jackson, a sophomore early childhood education major, has mixed feelings on whether or not the remodel is a necessary way to keep the building relevant to students.

Jackson said, “Yes, because I feel like more students would probably want to go see what’s going on in the building and see what’s new and upgraded, and no because some students might not care and still just walk past the building every day and still won’t know what’s going on with the building.”

Jackson feels that expanding the Center for Student Excellence to the second floor of the building is wise, however.

“I think that’s a good idea because there’s a lot of incoming students, and they should have more area and space to do different things and learn different things about the campus,” expressed Jackson.

Although plans are underway, no dates are yet available for the timeline of the renovation.