Classes will be transitioned out of Johnson Hall beginning this upcoming Spring semester.
Johnson Hall was built in 1959 originally as a dormitory building, with a small bookstore on the lower level.
The building now houses classrooms and offices used by the Arts, Sciences, and Education department and the Engineering Technology department.
Professors were informed last spring that they would be receiving assignments to new offices located in the Arts and Sciences Commons, allowing them to begin moving their belongings throughout the fall semester.
Johnson Hall has had several issues throughout the last few years, with several plumbing problems causing damage to the building.
According to documents obtained by the Torch via the Freedom of Information Act, the building has experienced frequent plumbing issues, with frequent reports of toilets clogging, overflowing, gushing water out of pipes and unpleasant smells coming from the restrooms.
Additional issues reported focus heavily on the HVAC system of the building.
Many maintenance reports received by the Torch comment on the building being either too hot or too cold, or requesting maintenance to address the lack of consistency with the ventilation of the building.
Dr. John Scott Gray has taught philosophy at Ferris for 20 years, occupying his office within Johnson Hall for the duration of this stay.
According to Scott-Gray, Johnson Hall has had issues for most of the last 20 years.
“This building has been on the ‘needs to go’ list for quite a while,” Scott-Gray said. “I think it’s one of the oldest buildings on campus, at least the oldest that that hasn’t been refurbished in any major way.”
FOIA documents did not demonstrate any significant refurbishment of the building, just generalized maintenance.
Plumbing issues prevailed, with reported problems of flooding in the building going back to 2009.
Scott-Gray expressed frustration over the initial communication of the move out of Johnson Hall and the lack of details on the timeline of what will happen to the building.
“If I’m totally honest, when this first broke at the very end of last semester, I was very angry and very upset,” Scott-Gray said. “My understanding is that there’s no timeline for the dean’s office to relocate until they relocate. This is just going to be mostly a ghost town.”
Scott-Gray did note that while the initial news of the relocation was upsetting and communication surrounding the situation could have been improved, moving into a newer and more updated office is something to look forward to.
In Jan. 2025, it was reported that there was water damage to ceiling tiles in the back of the dean’s office within the building. According to the report, the HVAC system ran just above the tiles that showed evidence of water damage.
Within the same month, another professor reported an electrical problem in which their extension cord to their computer monitor began to melt.
There was no follow-up information regarding the outcome of the electrical problem in the professor’s office provided in the documents.
Mechanical Engineering Technology junior Lily Guikema echoed issues with the HVAC system in the building, stating that she was aware of individuals that struggled with the ventilation in the building.
“The building is okay, but it’s a little bit old and could definitely use some updating,” Guikema said. “I know people who have complained about the building being hot and they were upset that the windows didn’t open.”
At the time of this article, it is planned for classes from Johnson Hall to be transitioned to the Starr Educational Building.
Professors with offices in Johnson Hall will officially be in their new offices at the beginning of January.