Important Update on Departmental Moves to Alumni Hall (sent to Departments of Computer Science, Education, and Philosophy and the Entrepreneurship Program)
Dear Faculty and Staff of the Departments of Computer Science, Education, and Philosophy and the Entrepreneurship Program,
We write to share the latest developments in our ongoing near-term central campus space planning initiative. After months of collaboration, discussions, and analysis, we are moving forward with plans to relocate your departments and program to a redesigned and renovated Alumni Hall. The Board of Trustees will hear about this proposed move in September. We will also start design work this fall (see Next Steps section). Pending Board of Trustee approval for construction (which we expect in October), we anticipate you won’t be moving into the renovated building until Summer 2026. However, there is much to do and our commitment is that this process be collaborative and iterative.
We deeply appreciate the engagement and input you have provided throughout this process. Your insights have been invaluable in shaping decisions that will support our collective mission of academic excellence. While change can bring challenges, we believe these moves will ultimately benefit your departments and the broader University community.
Why Alumni Hall?
Alumni Hall offers a unique opportunity to bring together Philosophy, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Computer Science under one roof. The connectivity and potential community between these disciplines invites innovative interdisciplinary collaboration. These departments have a shared spirit of experiential pedagogy–learning by asking critical questions, creating, making, doing, and reflecting, all in support of our strategic framework and bold institutional initiatives and priorities, including our Quality Enhancement Plan.
Moreover, this relocation will provide your departments with specialized and shared spaces needed to continue your exceptional teaching, creative work, community engagement, mentorship, and research.
Creating Breathing Room Across Campus
This move is part of a broader strategy to alleviate the space constraints we currently face across the University. By strategically relocating these four academic units, we are creating some much-needed breathing room in our crowded academic spaces, which will benefit all faculty, staff, and students. We believe that these changes will not only enhance your working environments but also improve the overall campus experience.
Other academic units will not be part of this initial move. However, the space planning process remains ongoing and academic needs are top of mind. Future phases may involve additional relocations or reconfigurations.
This project dovetails with our new Campus Master Plan work, which we anticipate will begin this fall and which will address other impacted buildings, including Scales Fine Arts Center, ZSR Library and Wait Chapel.
Next Steps
It will take time to design and renovate Alumni Hall. We remain committed to transparency and collaboration in this plan’s next steps. The design phase for your new spaces in Alumni Hall will begin shortly. This phase will include opportunities for your department to provide input, ensuring that the new spaces meet your academic space needs and support your continued success.
First, the University needs to finalize its contract with a designer and architect. We’d like that to be effective September 2024, followed by a kickoff design meeting later in the month or early October. That will begin an iterative design process lasting until May 2025. Renovation and construction–again, pending board approval–is scheduled for June 2025 – June 2026.
Please know that we are here to support you throughout this transition and move and expect that you will have many questions. The project team, in collaboration with the Office of the Provost and the EVP, will continue to keep you informed as we make progress. We are confident that this exciting move will position your departments for future growth and success.
Thank you for your continued dedication to our shared mission. We look forward to working together to make this transition as smooth and beneficial as possible.
Sincerely,
Michele Gillespie
Provost
Jacqueline A. Travisano, Ed.D.
Executive Vice President and CFO
Jackie Krasas
Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
Chris Kiwus
Vice President for Facilities, Real Estate, and Planning