With students returning and faculty and staff preparing for the school year, renovations are readying the Bryan College campus for the Fall 2015 semester close at hand.
The largest and perhaps the most exciting of these improvements is a revamping of the main spaces of the Latimer Student Center. The Office of Student Life now enjoys more space, taking up the room left by the transition of the Lion’s Den to the opposite rooms – formerly the campus store and the SubZone café.
As a result of contract renegotiations with food service provider Pioneer, funds were provided for upgrades to the dining areas on campus. The dining hall on the first floor of the student center will boast upgraded flooring, new eye-catching full-color signage, and four digital signboards kept up to date with the latest meal offerings, including two separate hot lines and a designer salad “tossed entrée bar.”
This funding also made possible the expansion of the Lion’s Den area, which now offers twice as much open space with attractive new flooring, a small raised stage platform, a new Prideland Grill with an exciting menu, various casual seating options with pendant lighting, and the pool and ping-pong tables students have always loved. Bryan College memorabilia will line the walls and provide an ambiance of school spirit.
To make room for the improvements to the Lion’s Den, the Lion’s Pride Campus Store has moved to its new convenient central location on the first floor of Mercer Hall, between the mailroom and the welcome center. On the third floor of the same building students will be able to take advantage of increased study space near the science labs. An additional music practice area will offer the Worship Arts Team ample space to practice and store equipment in Rudd Auditorium.
The Bryan Lions athletes also benefit in this summer’s campus renovations in the form of additional improved drainage and smooth laser-graded fields for both soccer and baseball (infield), and a safety net between the soccer fields and adjacent parking lot, along with concrete pads for the team benches to rest on. One floor in the practice gym has been replaced with turf floor bought from Finley Stadium.
These impressive improvements are set to be largely completed by the time classes begin, enabling students to enjoy them immediately.