While students enjoyed their breaks or crammed in a few classes over winter session, Physical Plant has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to refurbish classrooms in a project dubbed the “Classroom Blitz.”

“Classrooms get plastered, painted, new lamps, shades, floor tiles, ceilings, and projection screens,” said Kevin J. Ryan of Physical Plant. “All of the work is cosmetic. We can’t get into structure because of building codes and funding.”

Ryan, a contract administrator estimator of the plant, has been working nights, weekends and even holidays to ensure that the “Classroom Blitz” project gets finished.

In total, a team of hired contractors has worked on 25 classrooms, four auditoriums and over 6,000 square feet of common space in campus buildings.

Contract administrator foreman Steven F. Barrett, who oversaw the project, said his team began work the day after students left for break. He said last week he hoped to finish the work by Jan. 26, five weeks after starting the project.

“It’s a very limited time frame … there is no room for error,” Barrett said. “Knocking on wood, everything has gone as planned this year.”

Ryan and Barrett visit the renovation sites daily to check on the progress and development of the academic areas.

“The most extensive work was done in Morrill and Goessmann,” Barrett said, “Goessman is one of the oldest buildings here, and parts of it have never been worked on.”

The blitz has been organized around a limited budget, awarded yearly by Chancellor John V. Lombardi. This year’s budget totals $450,000.

“We squeeze every dollar to go further – more bang for your buck,” Barrett said.

Barrette and Ryan both agreed that a lot more classrooms need updating, but there is not enough money to take on any more than what they have.

While working with Lombardi, the Physical Plant’s “Classroom Blitz” committee hopes to one day utilize funding from alumni so that more classrooms can benefit from the project each year.

Both Barrett and Ryan credit the contractors and custodial workers for the speed and success of the blitz.

“The custodial staff is working their usual maintenance plus overtime at the construction sites,” Barrett said. “And the contractors are working day and night for us to get the job done.”

“We cover 1,450 acres of campus, that includes 351 buildings, so we keep very busy,” Barrett said. “We’re thankful to everyone working so hard.”

Last year, there was a great response to the “Classroom Blitz.” In 2003, the most extensive work was done to School of Management, the engineering lab and French Hall.

“It’s nice because 90 percent of what the Physical Plant does is not visible,” Barrett said. “It’s nice we can gain some high visibility. We do the best we can with limited resources.”

According to Ryan and Barrett, the renovated classrooms are always popular among professors requesting specific classrooms for their lectures.

“Professors put in requests for certain classrooms, and they always request the classrooms that are being blitzed,” Ryan said.

In the 2003 blitz, a truck with some last minute supplies and furniture was held up because of a snowstorm and arrived just a few hours before deadline.

“The truck came in at 5 p.m., and we worked right through the night to have everything finished by the next morning,” Ryan said.

“All you pray for is that it comes out right and on time,” Ryan said. “Depending on the trucks,” he added jokingly.