September 2006

CAMPUS NEWS

Campus Gets Needed Updates - and a Surprise Sculpture

What happens when you’re handed a tree stump, an old brick building, and a high-traffic area in need of an update? Well, AU decided to carve a new wooden mascot, renovate Nebraska Hall to make apartment-style coed housing, and create a new modern Tavern area with more space.

Last September, when a large branch fell from a tall old tree on the quad in front of Battelle-Tompkins, the university had to cut down the diseased tree. Its stump remained through the winter and was later removed. But someone on AU’s Campus Beautification committee suggested the stump might make an interesting sculpture, if the four-by-eight foot stump were carved into an eagle.

On July 20, Rick Boni completed the two-day task of carving the old oak tree into a beautifully crafted open-winged eagle. The Pennsylvania-based artist worked his way through more than 10 chainsaws while shaping the wood in the parking lot behind Kay Spiritual Life Center. AU’s latest rendition of its regal mascot is currently perched in front of the library but will be moved to its permanent home in the amphitheater. “I think it’s so cool they can take something that used to be so beautiful on the quad and transform it into such a beautiful piece of art,” says Bryan Riley, a senior at SPA.

New Digs in Nebraska Hall
Housing and Dining Programs is bringing modern, apartment-style suites with a laundry room on every floor to AU. Next fall, the newly renovated Nebraska Hall will open its doors to 115 upperclassmen, two RAs, and one faculty resident.

Undergraduate students with the highest number of credits will get first priority for this new housing option during room draw this spring. The cost to live in the new building will be the same as other single rooms on campus.

Nebraska Hall will be AU’s first residence hall allowing coed suites - with individual single bedrooms and shared common space. The university is allowing for this as a result of many requests in recent years, says Julie Weber, executive director of Housing and Dining Programs. The administration came to this conclusion because “students make friends in different patterns,” says Weber. Quite simply, some people become good friends with - and want to live with - those of the opposite gender.

Residents won’t be sharing a bathroom with everyone on their floor, but there will be only one per suite. Even though each two-, three-, or four-bedroom suite is equipped with a kitchen and living room, residents of this hall will not be able to escape the university’s no-alcohol policy. Like the rest of campus, Nebraska Hall will also be “dry.”

First used as a nursing home before AU bought it in 1983, Nebraska Hall has also been used as classroom space and housed the Student Health Center until it moved to McCabe Hall in fall 2005. “As Nebraska Hall became available, an assessment was made of who needs more space and we have been consistently short on housing,” says Weber. The university has a $15 million budget for the renovation and restoration of the hall, which has already begun, says Jorge Abud, assistant vice president of Facilities and Administration.

More Room at Mary Graydon Center
One of the oldest buildings on campus, it's safe to say most - if not all - AU students have at least passed through the Mary Graydon Center. Its central location makes it a prime location for meetings by students, faculty, and staff, but many members of the AU community agree it could use some updating. In an effort to make the first-floor gathering spaces more user-friendly, AU has hired an architecture firm to modernize MGC. Designs are expected to be completed before the fall semester ends so the updates can begin after May 2007 commencement and finished before classes start in fall 2007, says Mike Elmore, senior director of the University Center.

Among the updates slated for MGC: the Tavern will get modern seats and tables, and enlarging the main entrance to MGC for more space. Many students have study groups that meet in the lobby area, so the new designs will be arranged to accommodate students in large groups, says Elmore.

Jamba Juice was removed from the Tavern this summer, giving the Tavern more seating and a larger area for events held there, such as concerts, Greek life events, ice cream socials, and the “Mr. American” pageant.

Also, the Child Development Center, after being closed for five years, will move from its temporary location in the Leonard Hall lounge back to its original building behind Anderson Hall. Abud says the move is scheduled for the end of September, once its licensing is complete.

Don’t forget the new “eco-friendly” SIS building is still on track for its groundbreaking in summer 2007.

-Tara Shlimowitz ‘08

Back to newsletter