2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Center plans set in motion
Student panel to weigh in on construction, design of facility
Sarah Morton
Issue date: 10/28/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Since 1998, plans have been gradually developing for the improvement of the Lawrence Campus. Recently, an idea created by the same two-year brainstorming session that gave birth to Hiett Hall has been stirring in the quiet phases of its development after some years of stagnation due to lack of funding. Originally, the Board of Trustees recognized the excellence of Lawrence's academic buildings, and decided the student life-oriented buildings needed the most improvement. From 1998 to 2000, the Task Force on Residence Life, which consisted of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees, began submitting proposals for campus improvement to the Board of Trustees. Hiett Hall represents the first result of their efforts, answering a demand for a greater variety of on-campus housing for the primarily residential Lawrence community. The task force hoped, above all, to reaffirm the residential nature of the Lawrence community as well as improve the residence life experience. Currently, the Campus Center Plan, another one of the task force's ideas, stands in the initial phases of development.
Since the fund-raising has not yet been made public, plans for the center are said to be in their "quiet" stage. In the initial phases of the capital campaign, representatives are approaching reliable donors such as foundations, friends and supporters of the college, alumni, and trustees, to expand Lawrence's $188 million endowment. According to executive vice president Gregory Volk, many funds raised go to endowed scholarships and professorships. These funds will not go specifically to the campus center but to the financial needs of the college as a whole. However, the fundraising allows the Board of Trustees to resume the design plans for the center that began with the original task force.
The Board approved the campus center proposal in 2000. The trustees decided, after weighing different construction sites, that the center will be built on the site of Hulbert House, overlooking the Fox River. According to Dean of Students Nancy Truesdell, the campus center is meant to be a "crossroads of campus life," where members of the Lawrence community can spend time together in a casual environment outside of the classroom.
Since the fund-raising has not yet been made public, plans for the center are said to be in their "quiet" stage. In the initial phases of the capital campaign, representatives are approaching reliable donors such as foundations, friends and supporters of the college, alumni, and trustees, to expand Lawrence's $188 million endowment. According to executive vice president Gregory Volk, many funds raised go to endowed scholarships and professorships. These funds will not go specifically to the campus center but to the financial needs of the college as a whole. However, the fundraising allows the Board of Trustees to resume the design plans for the center that began with the original task force.
The Board approved the campus center proposal in 2000. The trustees decided, after weighing different construction sites, that the center will be built on the site of Hulbert House, overlooking the Fox River. According to Dean of Students Nancy Truesdell, the campus center is meant to be a "crossroads of campus life," where members of the Lawrence community can spend time together in a casual environment outside of the classroom.