Project Funded and Designed by Students Will Create New Focal Point
From the April-May 2008 issue of UConn e-Momentum.
Each year, as seniors come to the end of their four years at the University of Connecticut, they work together raising funds for a class gift that will mark their legacy. The class of 2008 is raising money to redesign the main entrance to the Student Union—the hub of student activity on campus—and create an inviting central gathering space that will benefit future students, faculty, staff and visitors. A plaque recognizing donors on display in the new space, named the Senior Square, will commemorate their contribution to UConn.
Since 1953, the Student Union has served as the center for student life. Following four years and $80 million in extensive renovations and expansion, the new “U” opened in August 2006. More than 300 student clubs and activities are coordinated or run from the building, including leadership programs and UConn’s six cultural centers.
“The physical benefit will be a beautiful entrance to a very central location on campus, the Student Union. It will be almost like a finishing touch to the building that has undergone so many renovations over the past four years,” says Kyle Bellemare ’08, chair of the senior class gift committee.
The goal is to raise $30,000. To date, seniors have committed more than $28,500. The gift committee is asking students to give $20.08 in commemoration of their graduation year. Fundraising expectations are high following successful campaigns in the past two years, during which seniors raised $31,000 and $32,000, respectively.
“The Senior Class Gift is an excellent way for seniors to give something back to the University that has provided us with so much over that past four years,” adds Bellemare. “We have all benefited from private gifts in the past, whether it was for scholarships, building renovations or technology advancements. This is a great opportunity for us seniors to start giving back, ensuring future undergrads the same experience.”
The Senior Square is being designed by juniors in the landscape architecture program as a class project. The effort is led by Kristin Schwab and Mark Westa, both associate professors of landscape architecture in the Department of Plant Science at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The current main entrance to the Student Union is neither functional nor attractive, and the sidewalks leading to it and plantings offer minimal visual interest, say Westa and Schwab. The new urban plaza will address these multifaceted problems.
“From a functional point of view, the entrance does not provide an exterior gathering or civic space that would be appropriate for a building that serves as the center to the UConn community,” says Westa.
By adding new walkways, a variety of plantings, seating, walls and terraces, the project will give the main entrance the prominence it deserves, add a beautiful focal point in the heart of the campus and create a comfortable outdoor space for gathering, explains Schwab. The design will address numerous factors such as automotive and pedestrian traffic on Hillside Road, site grading and sustainable development practices.
The students’ goal is to create a cohesive design that not only fits in with the existing site but also ties together UConn’s public venues along Hillside Road, including the Student Union, Co-op, Gampel Pavillion, UConn Foundation, Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts and the parking garages.
“The new space will serve as an improved entry to the Student Union as well as more of a gathering and social space,” says Westa. “In addition, it will add to the overall attractiveness of campus for visitors, especially those taking an initial campus tour.”
Westa adds that the design project has been an ideal experiential learning tool for students in the landscape architecture program.
“Throughout the program, we have students work on a wide range of projects from large community planning or urban design to small plazas, but often the spaces are hypothetical or, if they’re real, they’re too far away for students to visit,” he explains. “This project works well with the curriculum because it is a real life project, in a place that students can easily visit.”
The design plan is expected to be reviewed by the senior class gift committee and campus planners by the end of the spring semester, followed by groundbreaking next year.
Bellemare, a double major in economics and political science, is enjoying participating in the design process and working with his classmates to give back to UConn.
“This project is something that I have been able to see previous classes work on and succeed in. Having the opportunity to have a major role in the project and get my own graduating class involved in is something I have been looking forward to,” he says. “This experience has taught me a lot about team building and fundraising. It is extremely fulfilling to see seniors give back while benefiting the University at the same time.”
Fundraising and community involvement are not new responsibilities for Bellemare, who will begin a sales position at Philip Morris after graduation next month. Through his job in the student call center at the UConn Foundation, he helps bring in private donations for the University. Bellemare also engages in philanthropic and community service activities through the international business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi.
