New lights are in, new seating areas are open in the balcony, the walls have fresh paint, and the floor is ready for renovated seats to be installed. In other words, Rudd is about to reopen for business at Bryan College.
Carpenters transformed the appearance of the balcony, moving the recording studio to the area formerly occupied by seats and creating the base for seats where the recording studio formerly stood. In the main area of the auditorium, soffits have been built to hold speakers for the organ, and the new floor covering in the seating area has been installed.
Vice President for Operations Tim Hostetler said, “It has been exciting to see this project come together, to see so much accomplished in such a short time. I think the results will be a significant improvement over what we have gotten used to.”
The repainted, reupholstered seats are due back in mid-June and should be installed for use by summer conference groups.
“This is the first major renovation to Rudd’s main auditorium since it was built nearly 40 years ago, and we are excited with the new feel and the look at what it will be like when we are able to add seating to the balcony,” Mr. Hostetler said.
Vice President for Advancement Blake Hudson pointed out that the renovations are made possible by gifts from alumni and friends. A list of donors who have given $250 – the cost of renovating a seat – or more will be published in the summer edition of Bryan Life, to be distributed in early July, he said.