Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
UTRGV’s Brownsville Visual Arts Complex remains under construction months after its expected August opening, leading to frustration among the staff, faculty and students.
Faculty members told The Rider there are communication issues and construction-related disruptions, including classes moving online for a month, while university officials say renovations are progressing.
As The Rider reported on Aug. 31, the complex became possible after UTRGV’s lease with Texas Southmost College to use the Rusteberg Hall building ended.
A faculty member, who requested anonymity, said the building was still under construction when faculty moved in.
“It’s been under construction for this whole time,” the faculty member said. “We’re trying to conduct day-to-day active operations in an active construction zone, and it’s very frustrating, very difficult to do it.”
College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward said the university has made progress and all phase one classrooms, which include art, photography, ceramics, sculpture and the student lounge, are now being used for in-person instruction.
“We’re making really good progress,” Ward said. “Things are a little slower than anticipated, and that’s just part of renovating a new space. Sometimes, you encounter a lot of unexpected things. The good news is that all of our phase one classrooms, we are fully in now and teaching in-person classes in there. It’s not perfect. We still have a lot of touch-up things. … I’m really so grateful to the faculty for just finding pathways to make it work for their students. It seems like they’re having a good experience.”
Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
Asked what is at fault for the hiccups in the construction, the dean replied there is no specific blame.
“I think everybody involved from the contractor to our own construction planning folks to folks in our college and in the School of Art and Design, [we] have all been focused on safety, making sure that it’s safe for our classroom and that we’re in there as quickly as possible,” Ward said.
Luis Garcia, a UTRGV Art and Design lab technical service supervisor, said the complex will eventually be a great facility, despite the challenges that have emerged during construction.
“We wish some of the communication was done a little sooner, but then there were also hiccups along the way, which kind of delayed [construction,]” Garcia said. ”It’s a bunch of small issues, like, stacking on top of each other. I’m trying to encourage faculty to keep that morality up for the sake of the students, for them being here.”
Valeria Tokun Haga/THE RIDER
Avril Godoy, a studio art junior, said she likes the complex but hopes construction improves.
“There are still a lot of rooms that are in the process of being done,” Godoy said. “I do think there could be some improvements, but they’re working on it.”
Trisha Brown, secretary and treasurer of the Sculpture Club and art education senior, said the construction caused the club to change its activities for the semester.
“We had to change up our entire approach for the semester, from things that we sell to what we do during our meetings,” Brown said. “We haven’t worked with our usual clay at all. So, we’ve just really had to reinvent the way the club functions, which provided a lot of good opportunities, but it was because there was a lack of communication on where our stuff is going to be, where we’re going to be, and how it’s going to work.”
Garcia said despite the issues stacking up, he believes the complex will eventually become a great facility for the university community.
Garcia said the building is going to be “awesome” when completed but still is a work in progress.
“We got to fake it until we make it,” he said. “Yeah, it’s frustrating, but we got a new building. We’re going to do awesome things here. … We’re going to make it our home. … I want to bring that [morale] into it where students are eager to be here, eager to enroll in classes here. … It’s a work in progress. That’s been the motto that I’ve been telling people every time they come in about some issue. It’s a work in progress.”
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