By Althea Peterson
 The Norman Transcript

When University of Oklahoma College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences Dean John Snow started at OU in the early '90s, his staff had new building issues.

"Everybody was somewhere, but it was not necessarily the best place," Snow recalls. "It was a mess starting in a new building."

Snow referred to Sarkeys Energy Center in 1994, only a short time removed from the tower addition. Now, just more than 12 years after Snow experienced that building transition at the start of his administration, he will experience another. This time, the move is to the National Weather Center, two miles south of Sarkeys off Jenkins Avenue and Highway 9. As construction ends for the building, the Dean's Office for the A--GS college is the first to move in.

"It was time for us to move," Snow said. "The Dean's Office is kind of the guinea pig in this. We have a lot to learn."

Snow's staff will have to overcome some obstacles during the move, including test of lights and sirens, which sometimes go off without warning. Kevin Kloesel, assistant dean of A--GS, said not having working outlets, phones or Internet in their future offices allowed them to seek creative alternatives.

"We have been making use of our friends, or wherever there is a wireless connection," Kloesel said. "Sometimes, you have to be creative."

However, Kloesel said the facility, which reflects the rest of the Research Campus "internally and externally," is worth the trouble of moving.

"I think we've gone from a traditional academic setting into one that fosters a lot more collaboration," Kloesel said.

Sarah Swift, A--GS public relations specialist, agrees.

"My workspace is twice as big," Swift said. "We've made minor adjustments and it's working out well."

Snow said the goal is for students to be able to have classes and begin work at NWC by August. He said a fairly strict schedule is in place so that while the move will last the entire summer, groups will move in at a staggered rate. The next group to move in after the Dean's Office is the School of Meteorology, scheduled to begin July 10.

"We are fortunate that we can do the move during the summer," Snow said. "When they get back in the fall, we'll be ready for them."

While the college's administration moves out to the NWC, Snow said that by no means is the college leaving the main campus area. Classes in both lower division meteorology and most geography classes will still be on campus, plus the college will still have offices on several floors of Sarkeys.

Snow, who referred to this stage of the NWC as the "end of the beginning," said he cannot wait for the building to house government and university officials this fall, an idea that has been in the works for 10 years.

"It's a very complex emotion -- I have a a great sense of pride and great sense of anxiety because I want it to be perfect," Snow said. "Trying to get all of this orchestrated can be a challenge."

Althea Peterson 366-3539 apeterson@normantranscript.com