In November, Penn State's Board of Trustees approved the final plans for renovations to Old Main. Primary work on the historic lobby will begin in January to stabilize the environment, add sprinkler coverage and replace the lighting. Subsequent work on offices around the outside of the building will begin in April. All construction and renovation should be complete by next fall.

When holiday travelers return after the winter break, the Old Main lobby and main staircase will be closed. Contractors will be erecting scaffolding to work on the ceiling. Staff and visitors will still be able to enter Old Main from the front doors that face College Avenue, but they will be directed around the edges of the lobby to the wing corridors through April. Access to the President's Office will be via the second-floor balcony only, accessed from the stairwells at either end of the second-floor hallways.

Penn State's Board of Trustees Friday (Nov. 16) approved the final plans for renovations to Old Main's infrastructure and architecture. The plans, designed by Ann Beha Architects of Boston, include a strategy for a phased renovation of the lobby, conservation of the Land Grant Frescoes, plumbing upgrades and replacement of the perimeter heat system. The main lobby will be temperature and humidity controlled to preserve the frescoes.

The President's Office Open House will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, in Old Main on Penn State's University Park campus. Visitors can tour the President's Office, view the Land-Grant Frescoes and visit the Old Main Tower. Lion Ambassadors will serve as tour guides and entertainment will be provided by the Penn State School of Music. Light refreshments will be served. The event is open to faculty, staff, students and the public.

Preliminary work began March 12 on the restoration of the lobby of Old Main and the conservation and ultimate preservation of the historic Land-Grant Frescoes on Penn State's University Park campus. The frescoes project, funded by a $1.5 million gift from an anonymous donor, will be accompanied by the restoration of the entire Old Main lobby to reflect accurately its appearance in 1948 when the 1,300-square-foot frescoes were completed by Henry Varnum Poor. The works are the only frescoes at an American university created by an American artist, and the risk that this landmark might be damaged irreparably prompted a highly sophisticated initiative to preserve the frescoes for posterity.