Students in political science will no longer have to travel to the far north of campus in order to speak with their professors or teaching assistants.

The political science department has now moved from its temporary location in the Computing Applications Building to its new permanent home in David Kinley Hall.

William Bernhard, professor of political science, said David Kinley Hall recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation prior to the department moving in. He said even though the building has undergone massive construction, many of the historical aspects and features of the building have been preserved.

“It gives it some character that you don’t get in new construction,” he said.

The political science department was previously based out of Lincoln Hall, prior to undergoing its own renovation. After construction started, the department was moved temporarily to the Computing Applications Building, 605 E. Springfield Ave.

“Towards the end there, (Lincoln Hall) looked like a disaster area for students to come in and have classes,” Bernhard said.

Joseph Hinchliffe, professor of political science and academic advisor, said David Kinley Hall was a huge improvement from their previous permanent home.

“Many students may not remember Lincoln Hall, but, before they started the renovations, the ceilings were almost falling down,” he said.

The decision was reached for the department to not return to Lincoln Hall after the renovations called for more space restrictions.

“As the college was making plans to move forward, it just worked out that something was going to have to go and it worked out to be us,” Bernhard said,

Both Hinchliffe and Bernhard said they were looking forward to having classes where the department is now headed.

“We are going to have a lot of classes here in the building, which I think will facilitate interaction and make a better student

experience, so we’re really excited about that,” Bernhard said.

Chera LaForge, graduate student, said while the move was stressful at first — especially since it was mid-semester — it was great to have all of the faculty and staff in one central location.

“We also now have grad student labs and meeting places, and a lot of our grad student offices are all together now,” she said.

Matthew Winters, professor of political science, said the new location would allow him to have more face-to-face interaction with his students.

“In one of my classes, the students are writing research papers and definitely there is way more traffic of people coming into my office to talk about the papers than previous semesters,” Winters said.

Faculty also said the close proximity to campus is another added benefit with its new home.

“I think this is a real advantage; we will start to see more students coming through,” Hinchliffe said.