Welcome Center

[78crusader]

This has probably been discussed already on the board, but it looks like the Welcome Center is back on the drawing board, at least according to President Heckler's web page:

www.valpo.edu/president/ - Cached - Similar

Paul

[historyman]

This has probably been discussed already on the board, but it looks like the Welcome Center is back on the drawing board, at least according to President Heckler's web page:

www.valpo.edu/president/ - Cached - Similar

I'm not so sure about that. It might be that someone forgot to edit out that part about the Welcome Center. I'm sure that now that you have pointed it out someone at Kretzmann Hall will either confirm that plans for the Welcome Center are back on or edit out that part of the web page.   

[valpopal]

Valparaiso University receives $5 million anonymous gift.


From Pres. Heckler today:

I am proud to announce today the planned construction of a new 15,000-square-foot Welcome Center at the U.S. 30 entrance to our campus.

The Welcome Center will be an important gateway into our University community.  People visiting our community for the first time will have a chance to get to know us better, and those who already know us can reconnect in new ways.  Thanks to the generosity of our donors, our vision for this important place will soon become a reality.

The Welcome Center will create a front door for the University and will support the needs of all prospective students, alumni and all guests visiting campus.

It will also house some key historical and modern exhibits as a continuation of the University's story told in Heritage Hall, which was dedicated in April 2010.  The funding to build the new center came in part because of a $5 million anonymous gift to the University.

Building the Welcome Center is another important milestone for Valparaiso University as it seeks to grow to 6,000 students as part of the University's Strategic Plan.  The Welcome Center is being built in anticipation of a growing University enrollment and to help to foster a greater sense of community for visitors on campus. A groundbreaking ceremony is currently being planned for April 28, with details to follow at a later date.

[okinawatyphoon]

Woohoo! Great news!

[valpotx]

Pretty neat!  Must be nice to have $5 million to donate lol

[okinawatyphoon]

Some renderings of the new facility are located in the link below. This is a very exciting project and speaks volumes for our fundraising efforts. It's also worth noting that we should not have a period of time on campus without construction since the Arts and Sciences building should finish around the time of the groundbreaking. Exciting times indeed! 

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/vu-receives-million-for-welcome-center/article_7fecf80e-d085-5b87-a36b-0a760eed1206.html

[vu84v2]

Dorms should have been a higher priority.

[vu72]

Dorms should have been a higher priority.

The dorms will be built with outside money, then a master lease from the University.  The Welcome Center is not, per se, a revenue generating facility, thus, using outside money would be impossible.

[vuweathernerd]

and on top of that, who's to say that the donation wasn't specifically given for the welcome center? at least, that's kind of the vibe i got from reading the press release.

[78crusader]

VU72--

This is admittedly an unsophisticated question, but when you say the dorms will be built with "outside money," does that mean, basically, that VU will go to the bank and borrow the money to pay for the construction costs?  If so, why would we do this?  What is the advantage?

Paul

[vu72]

VU72--

This is admittedly an unsophisticated question, but when you say the dorms will be built with "outside money," does that mean, basically, that VU will go to the bank and borrow the money to pay for the construction costs?  If so, why would we do this?  What is the advantage?

Paul

Think of the apartments built on the north side.  Outside investors/developers put up their own money to build them and then the University enters into as long-term lease in which they guarantee occupancy.  I obviously don't know the exact terms, but these type of arrangements keep Valpo from having to raise big money for dorms and instead can use the raised money for academic buildings etc.
The student occupancy and rent gives the developer the money needed for debt service and a return.

[78crusader]

Makes sense.  So, have you heard anything about when VU might be able to start building one of these new dorms?

And...any idea why VU cannot raise $1 million to build the long-promised new track?  My only thought is that it is simply not a priority with President Heckler, but I don't think that is the case.  Have you heard anything on this? Thanks!

Paul

[vu72]

Makes sense.  So, have you heard anything about when VU might be able to start building one of these new dorms?

And...any idea why VU cannot raise $1 million to build the long-promised new track?  My only thought is that it is simply not a priority with President Heckler, but I don't think that is the case.  Have you heard anything on this? Thanks!

Paul

Not sure on the start date, although I seem to remember that Huegli will be torn down as soon as students leave for the summer.  I think the new dorm is a high priority but don't recall any other  details.

As for the track, it is simply a matter of finding the donor with that priority.  The fund raising guys are out there every day and if someone volunteers to put up the money, they aren't going to say no!

[agibson]

and on top of that, who's to say that the donation wasn't specifically given for the welcome center? at least, that's kind of the vibe i got from reading the press release.

It probably was a specifically targeted donation, but I bet it was part of a two-way conversation.  I don't think someone just walked in off the street and said, "I want to give $5M for a... sort of a... front door... hmm... let's call it a 'Welcome Center'."

The university has certain priorities in mind, they have certain potential donors in mind, they do some matchmaking, have some conversations, etc.  And out comes a "targeted" donation for a Welcome Center.  That same donor may have been unwilling to give the same $5M for e.g. an Arena.  But, maybe they would have been willing to give it for an academic building, or some other purpose.  But, not carte blanche.  They may have wanted some detailed discussion, maybe even some input, into the building, etc.

[agibson]

Not sure on the start date, although I seem to remember that Huegli will be torn down as soon as students leave for the summer.  I think the new dorm is a high priority but don't recall any other  details.

My memory's also fuzzy on the details.  I seem to recall construction _could_ start as early as this summer.  But, it may be contingent on enrollment numbers.  If the deposits on hand make the dorm likely to be needed soon, they might start it soon.  If we're still not actively approaching that 6k target, maybe the project waits another year or three until we are.

[sectionee]

This donation was made specifically for a Welcome Center, not dorms, not an arena.  The discussion on the fundraising efforts and what they should be doing is quite amusing.  This is going to be a fantastic addition to our growing campus.

[valpopal]

Not sure on the start date, although I seem to remember that Huegli will be torn down as soon as students leave for the summer.  I think the new dorm is a high priority but don't recall any other  details.

Huegli Hall will not be torn down until the summer of 2013.

[valporun]

If I recall correctly, the main reasons why Huegli isn't being torn down now is because that construction/demolition fencing area would cut off one of the major thoroughfares to get from one side of campus to the other exponentially during the fall and spring. Doing this during the summer is easier to handle because there aren't as many students living on campus, and I believe the student housing during the summer is at Guild-Memorial, so the major traffic center then would mostly walk past the Library, Arts & Science building, Mueller Hall, and the Chapel to get to the VUCA, and the communications and business buildings (blanking on those names right now), and Neils Science Center. At least in the summer, the university can detour campus traffic so it doesn't interfere with construction, and they can get the pieces of Huegli removed in a more streamlined manner in the summer, when you don't have as much foot traffic walking around.

[78crusader]

I suppose I'm sensitive to the track issue since when I was on the track team, our indoor workouts consisted of running the stairs in the old gym, and many of our outdoor workouts consisted of running up the hill past the Theta Chi house to the gym.  Maybe not the best of training facilities. 

Paul

[valporun]

I suppose I'm sensitive to the track issue since when I was on the track team, our indoor workouts consisted of running the stairs in the old gym, and many of our outdoor workouts consisted of running up the hill past the Theta Chi house to the gym.  Maybe not the best of training facilities. 

Paul

I'm sensitive to the track issue as well, but I'm also looking at how the track can be a revenue generator with college and high school meets. In the summer, it could be a superb generator with the AAU and youth track circuits because we would have the space for javelin and steepchase that are used at the AAU and youth summer track levels. I know our track team hasn't been at the same level as the LSUs, Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Stanford, and Oregons, but it could be a real nice revenue generator for the track program or the athletics programs as a whole. To go with what 78crusader said about the training, from 1999-2004, the team was commonly using available grass, roads, and high school tracks to do our training on all the time. Going to Eastgate for practices on the cement oval was like taking your career in your hands. I wish I had the remainder of funds needed for the track, so this could be done by the 2013 season, but I don't have it. I hope there is a large pool of donors that can and will help with this major investment and revenue generator for VU Track and Athletics.

[vu72]

This may be a silly question, but, here it goes:  just from a training standpoint, and from an inexpensive standpoint, couldn't you just replace the cement oval at Eastgate with cinders? I know, I'm really showing my age!!  I knew there was an oval out there but didn't realize it was unusable.  Why was it built in the first place??

[valporun]

vu72, it was resurfaced when track started going with the rubberized, for lack of a better term, track surfaces because they helped promote faster times because they give a little bounce, and teams can run/train on an all-weather track while it is raining. If you remember, cinder tracks picked up rain puddles that looked like floods, and teams/coaches would refuse to run on them. Once the technology in the new tracks had a drainage solution, schools went to it right away. The new track drains quickly, can be "Squigeed" for excess water run-off, and while it's raining, you can still compete on it, and won't get injuries like twisted ankles like you would get in puddles from rain on cinder tracks that don't drain for days. I certainly wouldn't feel safe, or want to risk the safety of another athlete, running on a loose cinder track after it rained.

[78crusader]

I ran on a cinder track in high school and let me tell you, you don't want to ever fall down on it!  I think I STILL have a scab from 1971.

There are many reasons for putting in a new track, and valporun has hit on several of them.  From my standpoint, though, there are three reasons why VU should make every effort right now to put in a track:  (1) a new track was part of the long-ended FITT project, and VU has stated on many occasions that a new track is important; (2) it is a recruiting disadvantage, both to track and field recruits but probably there are some potential students (and their parents) who come here and wonder where the heck the track is, and (3) Brown Field looks silly without a track around it.

Paul

[vu72]

Couldn't agree more about the need for a modern track.  I was just wondering whether or not, as a very cheap stop gap measure, putting a cinder track in made any sense.  Apparently not.  And oh yes, I remember running on cinder tracks as well.  Did you know that the Olympic Games were run on cinder tracks until 1964? 

So I'm still wondering what the oval at Eastgate was used for??  When was it built? Is it really cement??

[vuweathernerd]

Couldn't agree more about the need for a modern track.  I was just wondering whether or not, as a very cheap stop gap measure, putting a cinder track in made any sense.  Apparently not.  And oh yes, I remember running on cinder tracks as well.  Did you know that the Olympic Games were run on cinder tracks until 1964? 

So I'm still wondering what the oval at Eastgate was used for??  When was it built? Is it really cement??

we ran a pt test on it my junior year during rotc, and it was bad. our times suffered greatly, as did our legs. if memory serves, it's actually a blacktop surface, but any way you slice it it's not good to run on.