Get Out the Hard Hats—The University Commons Begins
Get out the shovels and the hard hats! The University Commons is here, and the campus community is invited to join in the celebration on Friday, April 23, at 4 p.m. on Kuch Field.
“We’ve been planning for it. Students have been asking for it. Trustees and donors have been raising funds for it. Now we are about to begin construction on a new hub for student life—the University Commons,” said President Jerry Greiner, who invites students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and community members to join in the groundbreaking celebration on Friday afternoon during Spring Fling.
The new University Commons will include:
- Lounges, fireplace gathering spots and activity areas
- Dining areas and a café for the entire community
- Flexible meeting rooms for small and large gatherings (up to 500 people)
- A balcony overlooking the campus green
- An enlarged and modernized fitness center
- Aerobics and dance studios
- Student art exhibit space
- Designated space for student organizations
Part of the $23.5 million At Home & In the World—The Campaign for Arcadia University, the University Commons will be built as an addition to the front of Kuch Recreation and Athletic Center and will face Kuch Field. The new facility will consist of 62,000 square feet of new construction as well as Kuch Center renovations. Take a virtual tour! Construction on the Commons begins after the Commencements and Alumni Reunion, with completion in Fall 2011.
“The University Community extends our special gratitude to Lois Arnold Haber ’71 and Michael Haber, Rosemary Deniken Blankley ’57, ’06H and Walter E. Blankley, and Madeline Johnson Stein ’68 and Isaac Stein, for their personal and leadership commitments to make the University Commons vision a reality,” Greiner said.
Designed to complement the campus architecture and grounds, the University Commons will bring a much-needed gathering place at the heart of campus, providing new and larger space for lectures, seminars, art exhibitions, fitness, performances and many other student, faculty and community needs. Funding for the Commons is included in the $22.9 million in general obligation revenue bonds issued by Arcadia University last week.
“We are excited to announce construction on the University Commons. The campus community has long recognized the need for a modern center where students and faculty can gather to form the kind of intellectual and cultural bonds that last a lifetime,” Greiner said.
