WKU News

Yesterday evening, we announced our decision to temporarily close Minton Hall and relocate the 348 residents to other housing options on campus. Housing and Residence Life staff met with Minton Hall students last night to inform them of the process and timeline for moving them, which will occur over the weekend.  

As soon as reports of mold in residence hall rooms were received earlier this semester, our HRL and DFM staff immediately began to investigate, test, and clean affected areas.  However, unlike in Barnes Campbell, Bemis Lawrence and Pearce Ford Tower where we have completed extensive work to remove surface mold and address maintenance issues, remediation efforts in Minton will require removal of the ceilings, which means the building will have to be unoccupied.  While this is disruptive, it is the most prudent and proactive course of action.  Our first and foremost concern is the health and well-being of our students.  

We understand this causes added stress to students as they are assigned new living spaces and in many cases new roommates. Our HRL staff is working with each of the affected students and will be providing assistance with their moves Friday through Sunday. I want to encourage all of us to offer support to these students, including making reasonable academic accommodations during this time.

Additional information can be found at https://www.wku.edu/housing/airquality/.  We all can be proud of the tremendous team effort underway to move and settle our 348 Minton Hall residents quickly so that they can remain focused on their studies. We cannot let this be a stumbling block for their coursework, their semester, or their WKU experience. 

Thank you for all that you do to support our students. 

Best,

Timothy C. Caboni