Two University architects presented a comprehensive overview of the Student Life Master Plan to the Student Centers Board of Directors. The plan is designed to upgrade facilities on campus to improve the student experience, according to the architects.
University landscape architect Tom Skolnicki and university architect Michael Harwood said it is important both students and staff work to improve University facilities for both current and incoming students.
Harwood mentioned the improved student experience is the primary reason for initiating the Student Life Master Plan.
“We’re really looking at a number of aspects of how we can make the student experience the best that it can be … tied in part to a desire to grow enrollment and grow the quality of the student,” he said.
The update identified Talley Student Center, the Atrium and a location on Centennial Campus as the foci for improvement, renovation and development.
According to Harwood, this plan could cost more than $60 million and take three years to complete.
The Board of Directors questioned the amount of student support needed for such a large-scale project and anticipated the plan would need student support.
“If we want the best and brightest to come to N.C. State, we need to have the kind of amenities that one would expect,” Harwood said.
Skolnicki mentioned the campus should be pleasant in its atmosphere and attractive to both students and potential students. The University architects intend to improve the use of spacing and incorporate more lounges and seating areas.
Harwood and Skolnicki have used benchmark surveying — comparative facilities studies with peer universities and focus groups — to attain feedback on the best and most cost effective plan.
Diana Douglass, president of the Board of Directors, said the University architects have incorporated feedback with the Board of Directors for the past year.
“I’m really impressed with all of the work they have done so far … with the focus groups and [contracted] studies,” Douglass said. “I’m really impressed with the material they gave us.”
Proposed plans for immediate improvement include additions to the Wolves’ Den game room; a new coffee shop and lounge; and meeting areas on the third and fourth floors of Talley.
According to Douglass, a senior in business finance and Spanish literatures, four new XBOX 360’s, a Nintendo Wii and a Sony Playstation 2 have already been installed, and a data projector screen with high-definition surround sound for watching sporting events will be added to the Wolves’ Den within the next month.
The University will ultimately direct car traffic away from Central Campus to make the school more pedestrian friendly, Harwood said.
According to Harwood, tentative, long-term plans also would include an arts center on Hillsborough Street and a pedestrian footpath over the railroad tracks that divide campus.
“The current chancellor is very interested in how we continue to improve our appearance, how we continue to improve the way people think about us,” Harwood said. “So then as perceptions improve of our University, so then does the caliber of our students and the appeal of our institution to our faculty, students and staff.”
