And then a cockroach scurries by. The smell of must and mold fills the air, and, every once and while, a bat flies down the hallway.

For the past five years, Benjamin Smith, an assistant professor of Mexican history, has called this office in Morrill Hall his own. The 110-year-old Morrill — which currently houses the English, history and religious studies departments — is one of the oldest buildings on campus, but by the time the incoming freshman class graduates, it no longer will be standing.

“I kind of like it,” Smith said, looking around his office. “I’ll miss it to some extent.”

Smith’s nostalgia comes after the MSU Board of Trustees approved plans Friday to demolish Morrill Hall and build a new, environmentally conscious addition onto the B-Wing of Wells Hall.

The $38 million project is scheduled to begin in September, when construction on Wells Hall is slated to start.

The addition is expected to be substantially complete by May 2012, and Morrill Hall is scheduled for demolition in March 2013.

The Old Horticulture Building also is scheduled to be renovated to house the history department in 2012 as part of the project.

Plans to restore the Morrill site after the hall has been demolished will be finalized during spring 2011. The space is likely to be restored, but still will pay tribute to Morrill, said Barbara Kranz, assistant director of MSU Facilities Planning and Space Management.

A plan to name the Wells Hall addition after Morrill also is pending.

Ultimately, Morrill’s wooden structure eliminates the possibility that it could be renovated and continuously used, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said.

“The engineering and safety estimates that have been given to me suggest that because of the way Morrill Hall was constructed, it is a building that cannot be renovated,” Simon said. “Otherwise we would have fixed the sloping floors before. It’s our choice when possible to renovate, but sometimes we can’t with the way things were constructed. All of the experts say it’s important for us to make a decision and vacate Morrill Hall.”

But before Morrill is demolished, a new area for offices and classrooms will be built in Wells Hall. The new addition has multiple features designed to make the structure environmentally sustainable.

“There were a number of challenges in trying to preserve the site and the green space around the site while adding a significant addition to the building,” said Dan Bollman, a design administrator with the MSU Physical Plant.

Aside from a “green” roof that will minimize the amount of storm water flowing into the Red Cedar River, the addition also will feature sunlight-activated shades to keep the glare out of classrooms and ensure the addition is kept cool, Bollman said. Paints used on the building will have low volatile organic compounds, and hallways will have nooks for recycling, with a shelf instead of cardboard boxes.

“We’ve made a real effort to get our construction standards … so it’s better for the environment,” said Lynda Boomer, an energy and environmental engineer with the Physical Plant.

The new addition will house foreign language departments, while the English department, which currently is in Morrill Hall, will be housed in the top two floors of Wells’ A-Wing.