LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - Set to open fall 2014 on the University of Wyoming campus, the $16 million privately funded Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center is seven months under construction and is slowly building interest from students and faculty.
Engineered as the “front door to campus,” the 67,000 square-foot facility will be the central hub for prospective students and alumni.
“When things are in the works, like the Half Acre project, students don’t have a lot of buzz until they’re completed,” Associated Students of the University of Wyoming President Brett Kahler said. “The more-informed students are excited, and when it finally comes alive in the fall, more students will be.”
Current students will be able to use the space for organization meetings and interviews with potential employers, while prospective students will start campus tours at the new building.
“It’ll be a great building for a first impression,” Kahler said. “High school seniors come to Knight Hall, which is a great historic building on campus, but it’s not necessarily the best view of what UW looks like across the board.”
The alumni association will move its external operations to the Gateway Center and is expecting an increase in visiting alumni, Executive Director Keener Fry said. About 45,000 of the 116,000 living alumni are in Wyoming, and the three largest populations include Albany, Laramie and Natrona counties. Fry added that about 14,000 alumni live in Denver and 3,500 in Fort Collins, Colo.
“This is going to make a huge difference in terms of accessibility,” he told the Laramie Boomerang (https://bit.ly/1fj1bR2). “Right now it’s difficult for alums to just stop and visit. We’ll be expanding to increase our reach to better serve alumni. There will be room for growth in our offices.”
Fry said the new facility will give the alumni association better opportunities to engage with current students, such as expanding the senior class ring program to be more prominent.
Faculty Senate President Colin Keeney said organizations and visiting families might be an economic stimulus to Laramie when they stay here, but the facility hasn’t been discussed because the building won’t be primarily used by faculty.
“It’s not a teaching-related segment of the university, it’s mostly business,” Keeney said. “This is more a foundation, public relations or alumni-oriented thing. As far as much faculty engagement or interest is concerned, very little to zero.”
Kahler referenced the business building atrium’s stock ticker as an enticing feature for students who might want to be part of that program, and hopes the screens and interactive features of the Gateway Center will have a similar effect on prospective students.
The new building will have 30 screens that cover two walls and display everything from presentations to major news of the day. Above the McMurry grand atrium will be a three-story illustration of Wyoming’s energy industry. The atrium will have an interactive display about the energy industry, including touch-screens and videos. A 30-foot timeline in the McMurry Foundation Legacy Hall will display UW’s history.
“Technology always adds a unique aspect. It’s hard to grasp what it will be like but if what we’re hearing comes to life, there will be great exhibits,” Kahler said. “The meeting spaces available will be a great use for students. They have access to ballrooms in the union, but having a place where large events can happen to celebrate students or recognize things happening at the university will be great.”
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Information from: Laramie Boomerang, https://www.laramieboomerang.com
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