I had a flashback moment when I saw that Freese and Nichols is the lead on this project. They are an engineering company headquartered in Fort Worth where my father worked for roughly 45 years. He was a civil engineer not long out of UT when he went to work there. After some years, he became a full partner in the firm. He officially retired at the age of 70 when he signed the papers, because it was best financially for his heirs, the day before he died of cancer. He didn't retire earlier because it was a rough period for engineering firms, and he simply couldn't leave at that time. There were many Saturdays in my youth that I went with him to their downtown office to hang out while he worked a half day. When they moved from the downtown office in 1968, I worked for them helping in the packing and moving process.

They have done work in East Texas, including the design and construction of Lake Nacogdoches and the water treatment plant there. I worked for their project manager doing odd jobs, the summer between my junior and senior years at SFA.

https://www.freese.com/

https://www.freese.com/freese-and-nichols-leaders-and-legacies-joe-paul-jones/

Here are a few of my initial ideas/thoughts but I am not sure if these belong on this forum.

1. SFA needs to expand the campus acreage. Any available property bordering the main campus needs to be purchased. Obtain nonadjacent land within Nacogdoches for a secondary campus for buildings that may not fit on the main academic campus.
2. Expand and add academic programs. A friend of mine stated she wished SFA had a Veterinary College. With the UT systems' backing, SFA could compete with A&M and Tech. It is lofty but not a bad idea.

Nice write-up about your dad 76.

nacluth said:

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Nice write-up about your dad 76.

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Thanks.

The reason this process is going to take so long is that it is a first for SFA. SFA has never developed a long-term campus plan before. Previous decisions were usually based on short-term analysis only, to meet what were seen as immediate needs. It's a bit shocking to think about a campus going 100 years without any long-term space utilization plan, but that's just how SFA functioned: "We need a new building for X, where can we find enough space on the campus map to plug it in?" The UT system is imposing more a disciplined and strategic approach. They don't just want to know what a system campus will look like in 2-3 years. They want to know what the campus will look like in 20-25 years.

Every existing campus space must first be comprehensively evaluated. I know of multiple buildings (dorms and otherwise) on campus that are sitting vacant or nearly so, and decisions have to made about whether to renovate and use them again or tear them down and repurpose the space. The Campus Master plan will ultimately help guide such decisions.

NacMan said:

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The reason this process is going to take so long is that it is a first for SFA. SFA has never developed a long-term campus plan before. Previous decisions were usually based on short-term analysis only, to meet what were seen as immediate needs. It's a bit shocking to think about a campus going 100 years without any long-term space utilization plan, but that's just how SFA functioned: "We need a new building for X, where can we find enough space on the campus map to plug it in?" The UT system is imposing more a disciplined and strategic approach. They don't just want to know what a system campus will look like in 2-3 years. They want to know what the campus will look like in 20-25 years.

Every existing campus space must first be comprehensively evaluated. I know of multiple buildings (dorms and otherwise) on campus that are sitting vacant or nearly so, and decisions have to made about whether to renovate and use them again or tear them down and repurpose the space. The Campus Master plan will ultimately help guide such decisions.

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Spot on. Thanks.