As you wend your way up The Hill to start another academic year, we hope you’re feeling refreshed, invigorated, and raring to go.
Campus feels that way, too.
“It was a full summer,” said Jake Preston, Denison’s director of the physical plant and capital projects.
While you were away, some big changes occurred. You’ll notice the first as you crest Presidents’ Drive and arrive at Chapel Drive.
Go ahead and make a right. You can do that now. That’s where we’ll start our tour.
- One-way traffic now flows on Chapel Drive opposite the way it used to. The change was made to improve access to Whisler Hall, which has been renovated and now houses some of the offices you’ll need as a student: Human Resources, Student Accounts, Mail Services, and the Copy Center.
- If you were on campus last year, you probably remember that Beth Eden was fenced off and under construction. Now finished and looking fabulous, the building houses key administrative offices of the President, Provost, Finance & Management, Registrar, Controller, Business Services, Purchasing, and Accounting. Intuitively, you may want to enter from Chapel Walk, but the main entrance is on the side facing Burton Morgan
- Whisler and Beth Eden were renovated to clear the way for Denison’s computer science and data analytics programs, which eventually will be housed in a renovated and much-expanded Doane Hall. That project, recommended as part of Denison’s Academic Master Plan, is in the planning and design stages.
- Thanks to a major donor gift, you’ll see dramatic renovations to the Marilyn P. McConnell Planetarium in Olin Hall. The work, which should be finished in September 2023, will include new seating, a refurbished dome, and state-of-the-art projection technology.
- A top-to-bottom refresh was completed at Upper and Lower Elm residence halls, and work at King Hall nearly doubled the available space for students, from 44 to 85.
- Initial renovations — mainly flooring and painting — were finished at Huffman Dining Hall, and some upgrades were made to student organization spaces in the basement.
- North of the intramural fields, work has begun on Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium, the new home field for the lacrosse and soccer programs. That work should be finished by January. Over on North Campus, the softball fields are receiving updates that include new turf.
- Next to the softball fields, a new building on North Campus will house Institutional Advancement, Information Technology Services, and University Communications. That building, expected to be finished in the spring, will free up space in some core campus buildings, particularly for Burton Music’s eventual conversion to student housing. That project is expected to be finished in Fall 2024.
There you have it. While plenty of other projects, from landscaping to roofing to stair-building, occurred in the past few months, these are the projects you’re most likely to notice as you reacquaint yourself with campus.
Welcome back, and make yourself at home.