Mitch Daniels reacts to Purdue president's office renovations

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP/WANE) -- The office of the Purdue University president has been spiffed up.

New carpet, LED lighting, audio/visual equipment and accessibility changes are providing a modern sheen and update to the suite that has been home to Purdue presidents since 1937.

For a few decades not much more than cleaning has gone in the southeast corner of Hovde Hall. The reason, said Sharon Whitlock, executive assistant to the president, is that there's never been a six-month gap between presidents. Former President France Cordova left the office in July and work began immediately after.

"We have dignitaries and other very important people visiting campus. This office may be the only place on campus that they see," Whitlock told the Journal & Courier. "We want to make sure we represent the university well."

Interim President Tim Sands put up with the banging and clanging around the building's second floor in recent weeks. Work finished last week, and staff will return on Tuesday. Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected in mid-January.

Gold-colored carpet squares were laid throughout the office, which also includes an entryway, conference room, support staff office, and the office of Rab Mukerjea, director of strategic plan assessment.

Updated computers and video conferencing equipment are being added in the president's office. Some equipment being replaced dated back to 2001. Presidential furniture will remain but has been cleaned, Whitlock said.

Decades-old wood paneling was removed from the support staff room, which houses five assistants, to reveal windows and pocket doors.

Ken Jacobs, director of Purdue's in-house project management, said the entryway for a small bathroom in the suite was expanded to meet federal accessibility guidelines.

Originally called the Purdue Executive Building, it was renamed the Frederick L. Hovde Hall of Administration in 1975 in honor of the university's seventh president.

Gov. Daniels issued this statement on Tuesday: "It is important to me that friends of Purdue and all citizens of Indiana know the following with regard to the renovation of the Purdue University president’s office: I knew nothing about it and was no part of the decision to perform this work. If I had been asked in advance, I would have requested that the work not be done. The renovation had nothing to do with my becoming president, but was part of a longstanding plan to renovate parts of Hovde Hall after many decades."

“I have asked that any work not already complete be canceled. Nothing about my service in business or public life suggests that I would initiate or condone a dollar of excessive or unnecessary spending on my account," Daniels said.

The total cost is $380,000, from university repair and rehabilitation funds.