“It was a busy summer,” said Jake Preston, Denison’s physical plant and capital projects director.
So what’s new?
- First up: If you’ve been on campus over the past 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.
- One-way traffic on Chapel Drive has switched directions. The change was made to improve access to Whisler Hall, which has been renovated and now houses Human Resources, Student Accounts, Mail Services, and the Copy Center.
- 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 Science Hall. The updates, which you may have seen during Big Red Weekend, 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.
- 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 open in the spring, will free up space in some core campus buildings, particularly for Burton Music’s eventual conversion to student housing.
- North of the intramural fields, work has begun on Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium, the new home field for the lacrosse and soccer programs.
Published December 2023