Following the bus crash into Robbins Science Center (RSC) on June 2, the future of the building became uncertain. An email sent to Hamline students and employees from President Mayme Hostetter on June 5 addressed many questions the community had, including the condition of the building.
“Robbins Science Center is structurally sound. We will be able to repair the damage and continue using this building. We’ve already begun the process of selecting a general contractor,” Hostetter said via email.
Despite being structurally sound, the crash left a giant hole in the side of the building, which has since been boarded up, with fences surrounding the point of impact. RSC also suffered significant water damage after the crash set off sprinklers inside the building, and will be closed for the time being. The Facilities Services team and Hamline Public Safety (HPS) both continue to work on this evolving situation.
“From the Public Safety perspective, our focus has been on the immediate emergency response, supporting St. Paul Police and Fire, securing the area, maintaining campus safety, and coordinating ongoing access restrictions around Robbins Science Center,” Assistant Vice President Illiana Cantu Delagdo said via email.
The impact of the crash also destroyed the offices of biology professors Leif Hembre and Bridget Jacques-Fricke. Neither was on campus during the event.
“Had we been there, we probably wouldn’t be alive, which is a little crazy to think about, because it completely destroyed where my desk was and where her desk was. So that’s the part that’s kinda eating at me a little bit. But I’m also feeling lucky, and as far as everything goes, like nobody was injured. A few of the kids on the bus had some minor injuries, but they’re okay,” Hembre said.
Jacques-Fricke does not have an office for the time being and is in the process of looking for space.
“For right now, I don’t have an office, which, you know, is fine for the summer. They’re definitely helping me find something if I need something for the fall, so that’s a process that’s underway,” Jacques-Fricke said.
While Hembre has a separate research lab space in Drew Science Center, Jacques-Fricke’s lab space is also located in RSC.
“In terms of the rest of the space in Robbins, that’s also going to be a lot of checking if my lab equipment is working, because I have a separate lab space. You know, of course, they had to turn off all the electricity in the building, so that means my lab fridge and freezer have been sitting for over a week now, so that’s a setback,” Jacques-Fricke said.
This is a setback for not just the professors, but students as well. At the time of the crash, students inside RSC were working on projects for Summer Collaborative Undergraduate Research (SCUR). Since then, local universities have offered spaces for Hamline students to continue research.
“Other colleges and universities in the area have generously offered use of available laboratory space; we’re looking into all options so summer research can resume as soon as possible. Students with active projects in Robbins will hear about developments from their supervising faculty members,” Hostetter said via email.
Both professors have been asked to make lists of what was lost in their offices due to the damage.
“Apparently, the Hamline insurance will cover Hamline property, but if you had personal property there, faculty and staff who had damage to their personal property need to either work through their own homeowners insurance or try to get payment from the bus company, which sounds like a big hassle to me,” Hembre said.
As for when RSC will reopen, that is still unclear.
“We’re still in the early stages of recovering from this incident, and we have a long road ahead of us. There are many questions we can’t yet answer, and chief among them is when Robbins might once again be usable for natural science teaching and research. It’s possible it may be at least partially open by the fall semester, but it’s too soon to say with any certainty,” Hostetter said via email.
