The Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPAUD) department has moved into the first floor of North Hall as the recently-formed School of Health continues to establish itself on campus.
In October 2021, Calvin University announced that they would be establishing a School of Health, made possible by a $15 million gift from an anonymous donor. This plan included both the creation of new majors and the consolidation of existing ones under a new organizational umbrella –– the School of Health –– which now includes 23 undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs.
In September 2022, Former Chief Financial Officer Tim Fennema formally announced that the Speech Pathology and Audiology (SPAUD) department would be moving from an earlier home in the DeVos Communication Center to North Hall, which is slated to be the center for the School of Health. Calvin began construction on the space in December 2022. The SPAUD department moved in over the summer.
Brian Kreisman, head of the SPAUD department, notes that this space has advantages over the previous space. Unlike the clinic in DeVos, the clinic in North Hall meets physical privacy features required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Kriesman said.
Being on the other side of the Beltline also presents more opportunities to interact with people from other programs. Despite the construction of buildings like the School of Business, the west side of campus continues to be a hub for both academic and social activity.
“Being on the main campus has opened up being able to meet people, faculty, staff that we didn’t really know at all,” said Kreisman. “I think being over here, in terms of cohesiveness of the School of Health, has been good.”
However, the move has not been without its challenges. Kreisman noted that many of the offices were still unfinished, and several labs and clinical rooms had been temporarily repurposed as offices until those spaces were finished.
“I don’t know what ‘done by’ means at this point. Our faculty offices were supposed to be done before the start of the school year,” said Kreisman.
Relocating specialized equipment from one clinic to another also posed challenges. According to Kreisman, they were unable to successfully move his audiometric booth and ended up having to buy a new one.
“So that was disappointing to say the least, because that was kind of a big deal,” said Kreisman.“But in terms of the clinical space, everyone’s been really helpful in terms of getting our department moved.”
Further construction for an addition to the western side of North Hall is in the planning stages now. This addition would include a two-story atrium space and formal entrance that will serve as a distinctive facade for Calvin’s new School of Health that is scheduled to be completed by fall of 2025.
