CSI House to be renovated over break

As things wind down for the semester in the classroom, renovations will be ongoing during the winter break at the Criminal Justice Investigation (CSI) House.

Adam Jack, chairperson for the Criminal Justice and Social Sciences Department, said he looks forward to having the renovations completed so the majority of the criminal justice courses can be taught in the house; with some courses still being held in Buhl Hall.

Jack said more space is needed due to the exponential growth of the criminal justice majors attending Waynesburg University, with over 160 students in the program this year.

He said what inspired the need for renovations was not only the increase in students but the additional programs Jack anticipates to hosts, including high school students and recruitment programs. He said even on university visitation days, Jack has struggled with fitting students and parents into one classroom, and more space is necessary.

The updates for the house include adding an additional classroom located where the current garage is on the house, as well as adding a bathroom in the basement. Along with brand new additions, simple aesthetic updates to the existing portions of the house are to be completed by the students.

Additions to the house are projected to be completed when students return for the 2019 Spring semester. Students also get to participate in helping give the CSI House a new look, by doing patchwork, painting and other physical labor that allow students to have “ownership and feeling a part of the place,” according to Jack.

“We are going to repaint the downstairs…and spruce things up. It’s time for a makeover,” he said. “We’re doing it as a service project and our students are going to do the actual renovations.”

The service project will be led by Instructor of Criminal Justice, James Tanda, and the Criminal Justice Club.

Jack said with the renovations, it will be a way for other professors teaching criminal justice to be at the house. With Jack’s office being in the house, his other colleagues reside in Buhl. But with the house makeover, it will provide an opportunity for more collaboration with the other professors as well as advancing the department.

“I teach here all the time and I am kind of by myself – I look forward to having my colleagues in the building so we can work together on certain things,” Jack said. “I am also looking forward to the students seeing us moving the ship forward…in criminal justice, we always try to keep our ship moving forward.”

Jack said he felt overjoyed by the support of the university and President Douglas Lee to make the renovations possible.

“We just needed more space to be able to make our schedule work for our students,” Jack said. “We’ve grown out of  It’s just time we’ve needed more space. I cannot say enough about how supportive the provost, the president and the entire senior staff has been because it’s a group effort.”

After the renovations are completed, Jack said on the other side of the basement, there are plans for a third classroom to be constructed that will be utilized for the laser shot classroom, providing more room for students to be more interactive and practice more drills.