The University School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development is on the move in 2013.
Formerly located in the Old Forestry Building just south of the Quad, the school can now be found in 298 Coates Hall. Wet paint signs and cardboard boxes still line the hallway as the administration prepares for the upcoming school session, and the new location will look to benefit the school in the future.
Michael Burnett, director of the School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development, said the move to a more centrally located area of campus occurred for several reasons.
“The Old Forestry Building has been on the demolition list for some years now, and it is not in the long term plan for the campus,” Burnett said. “The building is very old, and it has a lot of maintenance problems. While there was a concentrated space available, we were given the opportunity to move at a time when we could move all our faculty together.”
Burnett said he recently learned that the Old Forestry Building is not planned for imminent demolition, and the facility will be used as swing space for other programs while renovations occur elsewhere on campus.
With the upcoming $100 million plan to renovate Patrick Taylor Hall, the space in the Old Forestry Building will be used by areas of the engineering department.
But the new school location in Coates has other benefits.
Burnett said computer resources were slow in the Old Forestry Building, largely due to the fact that the facility was not connected to the University fiber optic cables. The new location in Coates Hall, which was previously occupied by computer science, will allow for more efficient use of network resources.
Another benefit includes the more-centrally located space on campus, as having the school in the Quad allows for easier access.
Being a part of the newly formed College of Human Sciences and Education, the new location puts the school closer to other programs within the college. The office for the college can be found across the Quad from the new school location in Peabody Hall.
All in all, the new location will look to benefit those who come through the program.
The School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development prepares trainers in training development positions within businesses and industries, according to Burnett.
“At the doctoral level, we’re primarily preparing people who will work at universities and in University faculty positions,” he said. “We do have a major emphasis on our program, also on leadership and leadership development, and that can be very beneficial.”

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Angela Major

The School of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development will be moved from the Old Forestry Building, shown above, to 298 Coates.