Shippensburg University students may notice a different look to Franklin Science Center (FSC) this month as ongoing renovations are set to enter a new stage.

The Department of General Services issued four construction contracts on Jan. 10, and an “initial job conference” to formally start the project was held on Jan. 29, according to Bruce Herring, SU assistant director for planning and engineering.

Fencing around portions of FSC is expected to be erected by Feb. 8 and will remain throughout the construction, which is estimated to be completed in early 2027, Herring said.

FSC’s renovation is divided in two phases, with the southern half of the building being restricted within days of this publication. Several entrances to the building – the door along Cumberland Drive and those closest to the F-1 parking lot and Grace B. Luhrs University Elementary School – will no longer be available. Students also can anticipate the closing of the sidewalk on Cumberland Drive and periodic road closures as construction unfolds, according to Herring.

As noted in a February 2024 story on the renovations, the biology and chemistry departments are sharing half of FSC and will relocate to the south half of the building when the first phase of construction is complete. The psychology department began moving out of Franklin last year and has been settled in Wright Hall, its temporary home until FSC is complete, since last summer.

Extensive renovations to Franklin Science Center, which was built in 1970 and received only partial renovations in 2002, have been discussed by the university since as early as 2010, Herring said. It took another decade before funding was available, and the plan was officially in motion by 2022. 

When the brand-new FSC opens in 2027, it will aim to better support both students and faculty in STEM-related fields.

“The renovated facility will allow the university to better serve STEM students , support and showcase faculty and student research, and provide state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories to provide students with the ready to work skills they need,” a story in the summer 2023 edition of the SU magazine said.

Lab spaces will receive new fume hoods, countertops, cabinets, lighting, ventilation and air conditioning. Various parts of the building will be updated for further accessibility, Herring said. Areas of the building are also being updated to allow for further collaboration and enhanced study and group work areas.

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