Heating and cooling at MSU

This time of year goes from hot to cold in a matter of hours. 

With the significant changes in weather conditions that occur during Kentucky springs, the staff at Facilities Management puts extensive thought, planning, and research into when it is best to transition from heating to cooling.

Today, March 28 is warm but last week at this time it was cold. We watch weather trends and have monitored that temperatures begin to remain consistent in the first two weeks of April.

This year the transition process will begin on April 10 through April 14. 

The process is much different than changing the thermostat in your home. Many of the buildings have a two-pipe system which means it either heats or cools but does not do both. 

Our staff will begin cleaning and filling the towers, cleaning the outside of the air conditioning condensers, and doing inspections. This is a lengthy process that requires man power and the proper equipment. It can take an entire work day to complete one building. 

We also must ensure that the weather is warm because cold temperatures could cause the systems to fail. And once these two-pipe systems are switched to cooling they cannot be switched back to heat until the fall due to the coolant used.

The transition coincides with the process our Heating and Water Treatment facility manages. A steam tunnel runs through part of campus and the steam is used for heat during the fall/ winter and chilled water cools buildings in the spring/summer.

Facilities Management works diligently to provide the most comfortable conditions possible for students and employees at Morehead State University. We appreciate your patience and hope that having the information gives better understanding to the reasoning and process.

Past, Present, Future: Breckinridge Hall

As we exit Grote-Thompson Hall to the right, we come to a building that also stands with Thompson and Rader as structures of the original crescent of University Boulevard. 

Perhaps the most familiar of campus buildings to older generations of Rowan County natives is Breckinridge Hall.  Breckinridge was erected on the corner of University Boulevard amidst the huge campus oak trees in 1931 to provide Morehead State Normal School with its own laboratory for teacher training. 

A four-story classroom and office building, Breckinridge was named in honor of Robert J. Breckinridge, a former State School Superintendent.  Previously known to many as Breckinridge Training School and University Breckinridge School, it was used for 51 years as the University’s laboratory for prospective teacher training in which all 12 grades were housed.  The students who attended Breckinridge Training School were commonly referred to as “Breck Brats.” 

When university status was granted in 1966, just after the building was expanded in 1965, the Board of Regents approved the name change to University Breckinridge.  Poor economic times forced the University to merge University Breckinridge with the Rowan County school system in 1981.  The training school provided a rare and unique education for students until it was finally closed for good in 1982.  Some of the school’s faculty transitioned to teaching college courses at MSU.   

The spirit of “Breck” lives on in the hearts of so many who attended and because of this, The Breckinridge School Society was established in June of 1993.

With the departure of the high school, the facility was closed for renovation. The $14 million project was completed and an expanded and renovated Breckinridge Hall was reopened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 10, 2002, “dedicated to the proud past of Morehead State University and to the bright promise of its future.” The renovation allowed various areas to be named for special individuals including: W. David Brown Seminar Room, Capt. Michael K. Gallagher Audio Studio, Kozy Hamilton Costume Shop, Harlen Hamm Speech Suite, Lucille Caudill Little Theatre, Larry Netherton News Production Booth, Mary Jo Netherton Foreign Language Lab, and the Thom Yancy Television Seminar Room.

Today, Breckinridge Hall is home to the Department of Communication and Media and Leadership Studies for Morehead State University.  It also houses two programs from the Department of Music, Theater and Dance, and foreign languages.

The award-winning, National Public Radio affiliate, Morehead State Public Radio also operates out of Breckinridge.

Like its neighbor to the left, “Breck” resides on the National Register of Historic Places as it proudly stands boasting a truly diverse and rich historic background 86 years after construction.

Breckinridge 2017

Breckinridge 1948

Residence Hall- Pest Control Schedule

Facilities Management treats residence halls on a monthly basis. Each residence hall is scheduled for one day per month. Our Pest Controller, Larry Hignite begins with the top floor at 9 a.m. and works through the building. Most residence halls take at least 8 hours to complete.

First Tuesday- West Mignon

                            Fields

First Thursday- Mignon Hall

                             East Mignon

First Friday- Alumni Tower

Second Tuesday- Cartmell Hall

Second Thursday-  Nunn Hall

Third Tuesday- Andrews Hall

Third Thursday- Mignon Tower

Third Friday- Mays Hall

Fourth Tuesday- Eagle Lake Apts.

Fourth Wednesday- Butler Hall

Fourth Thursday- Cooper Hall

Fourth Friday- Thompson Hall