SAN ANTONIO, Texas — The University of the Incarnate Word is half way through construction on a new facility.
Campus leaders say the $30 million building was well overdue and will give students more living space. The 135,000 square foot Student Engagement Center will be three times larger than the one that stood in its place before.
“Marian hall had served its purpose for many years. Our student enrollment is going from, when this was built 1200 students to a campus that serves almost 11,000. We were in need of serious upgrade,” said UIW Vice President of Enrollment David Jurenovich.
The new student engagement center will house the university's main dining facility, a video gaming room, post office, bookstore, and ballrooms. But university leaders say the best part will be a space dedicated to nothing.
"One of the things that was clearly missing was the opportunity to upgrade the family room and living room of the campus. A place that was not dedicated to one particular program, but would serve all," said Jurenovich.
UIW has quickly outgrown many of its spaces. Though new facilities have popped up to accommodate more students, university leaders have pushed to keep the UIW charm.
"Everything we do we try to resonate with our history, our mission, and our roots," he said. "You'll see some brick to tie in and you'll see some glass to allow transparency, to allow vision and to demonstrate the windows of the world of looking out, looking up and looking on."
The new building is set to be complete by summer 2017.