NORTHRIDGE : Faculty Helps Oversee CSUN Quake Repairs

Responding to accusations that faculty members were excluded from decisions about earthquake repairs, Cal State Northridge administrators have created faculty-represented committees to oversee every major repair project on campus.

“We learned from experience that we needed to involve the faculty much more deeply in terms of determining priorities,” said university spokesman Bruce Erickson. “We think the new process improves communication both ways and will increase the efficiency of repairs.”

About a dozen committees, with representatives from construction management, plant facilities and the faculty, were established at the beginning of June.

Prior to that, in the aftermath of the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, administrators worked in an emergency mode, Erickson said, making decisions without faculty consultation on a campus that suffered an estimated $350 million in damage. In April, faculty members complained to the administration that their concerns were not being considered in prioritizing and scheduling repairs. Some said sections of buildings were sealed off or materials removed without adequate notice.

“It wasn’t our university anymore,” said faculty President Nancy Owens, professor of textiles and apparel. “It belonged to the security guards and construction folks.”

But faculty members expect the repair teams will improve communication on campus.

“It’s a wonderful coordinating mechanism,” said music department Chairman Jerry Luedders, a member of the music building repair committee. “I’m pleased with the progress.”

Erickson said administrators hope to have several major classrooms and labs on campus ready for the fall semester. Also likely to be ready are the new buildings that house the business and education schools, which had not been used prior to the quake.

Erickson said the administration is making every effort to rush the repairs in the core of the Oviatt Library, which CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson has declared a top priority.

“There is no blue book on how to recover from the greatest natural disaster on a university campus,” Erickson said. “We are inventing it as we go along.”