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Academic Centers for Athletes Draw Donors
More than a dozen university athletics programs have added lavish new facilities in recent years, and academic-services budgets are soaring, a Chronicle survey finds. (Photograph courtesy of Texas A&M U.)
College Employees Value Campus Environment, Survey Finds
When a Chronicle survey asked college employees what they value about their jobs, they put the physical environment in which they work at the top of the list.
Rise in Tornadoes, Floods Poses Risk to Colleges
What if the sort of extreme weather that has left the University of Iowa inundated in floodwaters is not a freak event? What if it is a sign of things to come? (Photograph by AP Images)
Other News
Colleges Get Greener, but Not in Teaching
U. of Toledo Decides United Way Building Is Unsuitable for Its Use
New campus buildings
Multimedia
A Green Building as a Billboard for Science
(A 2006 Chronicle video)
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
Fixing a Wind Turbine: No Small Matter
Technicians remove the blade assembly on Carleton College’s wind generator. See the dot on the landscape below the blades? That is a person. (Photos by Weldon Hogie)
This week’s Chronicle includes a story about Carleton College’s three-year-old wind generator, which broke down recently. The two-month process of fixing it involved finding a crane tall enough and heavy enough to remove the giant blade assembly from the top of the 230-foot tower. The pictures above and below, taken by Weldon Hogie of Northfield, Minn., should give a sense of just how big a job this was. (Thanks, Weldon, for letting us run them.)
The story includes comments from a wind-industry expert who says colleges should prepare for expensive and difficult repairs if they decide to invest in wind turbines. It should be noted that officials at Carleton College have not soured on their turbine, despite its recent breakdown. The machine was under warranty, so the manufacturer covered the repairs.
High winds, which could have made work on the wind generator dangerous, delayed repairs. The crane was on site almost three weeks, at a cost of $5,000 a day.
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