By JIM BUTLER

Chancellor-designate Dr. Elizabeth Beard best hang on to her hard hat as she changes offices at LSU Alexandria. 

Several construction projects will be getting under way about the time she officially succeeds Dr. Paul Coreil on July 1. 

Bids for the first of them are scheduled Tuesday, when offers for construction of a baseball/softball field house (locker rooms, etc.) for the Generals will be received. Estimated cost: $900,000. 

The top-ranked distaff Generals are competing today at LCU, Pineville, for their conference championship.

On May 19 the university plans bid receipt on construction of tennis courts and pickleball courts. Estimated cost: $900,000. 

The school last June closed its golf course, making way for much-needed student housing. 

On May 28 bids will be accepted for renovations to historic Oakland Hall, with $500,000 earmarked. 

Its claim to fame is two-fold: 

Oakland was the first new permanent building constructed on the campus. Classes began in September 1960, Oakland’s construction in February 1961. 

The structure was also the first building in Louisiana using the lift slab post tension method. 

Floors and a roof of concrete were poured and cured at ground level, then lifted into place. 

On June 2, according to posted notice, the university will open bids for installation of a campus-wide direct digital HVAC control system. Estimated cost: $850,000. 

Two days later offers for renovations to the A.C. Buchanan Building, a key piece of the university’s allied health center on Jackson Street in downtown Alexandria, are due. The overall project will cost more than $30 million.