Students returning from Winter Break can expect to see repairs ongoing throughout the Kimbrough Building’s halls.

Kimbrough experienced water damage over winter break. Between Wednesday, Jan. 7 and Thursday, Jan. 8, a cooling coil in a rooftop air handler cracked, resulting in flooding to some parts of the building.

The crack is suspected to be the result of extreme overnight temperatures, with Wednesday night’s low reported at zero degrees. Security camera footage places the crack occurred sometime before 1 a.m. Campus police were alerted to the flood immediately.

The main areas affected are the classrooms on the east side of the building, first and second floors and the offices of the College of Graduate Studies and the College of Business.

Faculty offices of the west side of the lobby are unaffected.

“The central point of the leak was directly over the Graduate Studies office, causing water to come through the roof at this location and spread through the east side of the second floor,” said Bill Persinger, executive director of Public Relations and Marketing.

The water reached the first floor through several locations on the second floor. Water also cascaded down from the second floor lobby through the center stairway.

Repairs and finishing work are predicted to be ongoing after classes have begun, but all the classrooms were reportedly in useable condition for classes on Tuesday, Jan. 20.

There is no estimated date as to when the Graduate Studies offices will reopen.

Staff in the College of Graduate Studies and the College of Business will be temporarily located to the second floor of Miller Hall. Anyone needing to reach staff in the Graduate Studies Office can call 221-7414 or email them at [email protected]. To reach staff in the College of Business, call 221-1283 or email [email protected].