Hello USGA,
Thank you for your concern about Terry Student Center. Let me explain how a plan for the third floor came about. We began reviewing the use of the third floor Terry when we received pressure from Campus Ministry that the chapel is too small and there is no central space for CM to serve students, that there is no place for organizations to meet, and there is now an urgent need to find a space for WLUW since it must leave Damen (Damen comes down in the summer of '10). Besides, WLUW needs to move to the campus where the School of Communication is located. In addition, WLUW needs to be in a building with 24-hour access. So, we could not put it in the lower level of The Clare which will be closed after 12 midnight. (Some shifts at WLUW could be in the middle of the night. 24-hour security will be at Baumhart/Terry.) All those pressing needs conspired to force us to look carefully at 3 Terry. When we looked at usage there we saw how poorly it is used. Some people use it to watch TV and some to play pool. Given the rather thin and very sparse use - in an otherwise well-used building - the third floor stands out as poorly programmed (e.g., it averages about 30-45 users a day according to a study of usage). So, we began looking at how many services it could accommodate if it were reprogrammed. Daily Mass chapel, offices for orgs. and for campus ministry, a central space for lounge, office and program space for WLUW, retention of the meeting/study room on the west side of the floor and use of the present chapel for meeting room - all this seemed a better use than the present sparse use once the study came back. So, we began looking at various designs and Teresa Woyczinski came up with how much could fit and how much this would cost. At the end of the last year, there was money left over so I decided to use it for three things - new bathrooms in the old library (Cudahy), completion of the fourth floor of the Information Commons and redesign of the third floor of Terry. We're committed to using this space in Terry for student space, but it has to be able to accommodate a bigger chapel and offices for people who see students - like the campus ministry people - we have such a poor program now at WTC and it needs to be revived. I am committed to making the WLUW station truly a student station. I believe that it has not been so in the recent past. It was at one time but too few students use it. A radio station that no students listen to is what we have now. That is why we asked the new Communication School to take it on and help it evolve back to a station that caters to student interests as well as one that allows students to get experience with a real radio station. I liked the idea of turning the present chapel into a meeting room that orgs. can sign out. One could argue about each piece and about losing the pool table - actually, it could also fit in the lounge that remains near the WLUW area in the back, or north end of the floor - but the Space Committee decided to try getting these into the plan putting more student-oriented programs than we now have into the building. Also, this has to be looked at in the context of the overall development of the campus. We have plans for turning Maguire Hall into the new WTC library/info commons when Business moves into its new building. When that happens then we can take the present study/meeting room and get more creative with it, allowing it to be used for student org. activities. I am also hoping that the second floor in Terry where the small snack bar is with seats - completely unused now - can also be turned into a space that students or student services can use. I don't think the spaces other than the lobby, bookstore and cafeteria are well-programmed and well-used. Also, the new B-School building will have space for Business student activities. Teresa and Wayne Magdziarz in my office, who have been working on this project, can speak with you about specifics. Also, I hear you are working on a new student union for the LSC. Your ideas are most welcome. All this is good timing since we need to include these ideas in our strategic plan which is being worked on now. I presume that this will come up through Wayne Magdziarz's task force on Campus Resource Development. In this next strategic plan, we should complete the development of the master plans for each campus. This will be the plan that lays out the way we will use all available space left to us on each campus, so it is a critical one. Thanks for your interest. Let me say that no USGA before has shown any interest in the WTC, and I am grateful you care. MJG
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