Office of the President
Monday Morning Memo
September 15, 2008
Good Morning! Just as the season is starting to change with the coming off all next week and the wonderful autumn colors soon to follow, so too are we looking ahead to dramatic changes in the physical layout and appearance of campus buildings. From the renovation of Gardiner Hall to the construction of the Native American Cultural Center, those dramatic changes will take a little longer to arrive, but they will be well worth the wait.
One such project that we all will have a chance to learn about next week isthe Center for the Arts. Architects who will design the center will be on campus to share their preliminary, schematic designs. The campus community and the public are invited at 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 22, on the second floor of the Corbett Center to join in the discussion of this exciting project for our campus. Please attend if you can.
The Center for the Arts is one of several projects on the northern edge of the campus that are part of a larger vision of changing the appearance and dynamics of the University Avenue of the future. As envisioned in the university's master plan, one of the primary targets of this new vision isto improve main access into the campus through University Avenue. Another part of this vision is to make University Avenue the place to be for entertainment, meetings, conferences and dining. From a new hotel and the Las Cruces Center on the west side of campus along University Avenue to the Center for the Arts farther east, the interaction of the university and the community is expected to be quite different. We believe this will create a new synergy between the two entities - "town and gown" - that will benefit both. NMSU Director of Facility Planning and Construction Michael Rickenbaker describes the University Avenue of the future as a place "where a really great university comes together with a really great community."
Phase I of the proposed $37.5 million Center for the Arts, which will be at the intersection of University and Espina, is moving forward and is in its schematic design phase, which is the preliminary design stage. Phase I of the project will include a 50,000 square-foot building that will house a drama theater with approximately 450 seats, along with its support areas.The construction also will include public spaces, shared classrooms, offices and building support areas. Construction of the Center for the Arts is scheduled to begin mid to late 2009.
In November, voters will be able to cast their votes to approve a General Obligation Bond that has $19 million earmarked for the Center for the Arts. It is part of $33 million in projects in Bonds C and D that will benefit each of our campuses across New Mexico.
Facing University Avenue at the southeast corner of University and Union are plans for a major hotel with dining and meeting facilities. At the southwest corner of University and Union, the city of Las Cruces will construct the Las Cruces Center, a multipurpose center to attract conferences and special events.
These three major projects will put feet on the ground to make University Avenue the place to be for residents and tourists. The hotel will serve as a working laboratory for NMSU's Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management School. This is especially exciting since this program will be offered from each of our campuses throughout the state.
Another element of these new developments that is important to note is that they will utilize the latest in energy efficiency and sustainability. The Allied Health Addition at NMSU-Alamogordo is on its way to a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) Silver certification, the first in the NMSU system. Groundbreaking for that project also will be nextweek (9 a.m. Wednesday, September 24). The renovation of O'Donnell Hall included a variety of sustainable measures - the use of natural lighting, for example - and both Gardiner Hall and the Center for the Arts are being designed with the goal of achieving LEED certifications. Also next week, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, September 26, for O'Donnell Hall, followed by tours of the building at 10 a.m. Please join us.
As always, I am eager to hear your feedback and please remember the public meeting next Monday evening. Also, I would like to remind everyone to visit the Amazing Aggies Web site (http://amazingaggies.nmsu.edu) where you'll see many of your co-workers who have been nominated to date. Please consider nominating someone you have seen going above and beyond for NMSU.
Have a great week,
Waded Cruzado
