Representing Western Carolina University during a ground-breaking ceremony for the university’s two new residence halls are (from left) Steve Warren, vice chair of the board of trustees; Stephen W. Woody, president of the WCU Research and Development Corp.; John W. Bardo, chancellor; Sam Miller, vice chancellor for student affairs; and Maleah Pusz, a senior and member of the Honors College board of directors.

Chilly April rain and wind didn’t dampen the enthusiasm Thursday (April 3) as Western Carolina University broke ground for a pair of residence halls – facilities described by WCU trustees vice chair Steve Warren as “a place where friendships are forged and the power of thought is tested.”

The two new residence halls, connected by an archway, will house 801 students in a living and learning community serving students enrolled in WCU’s Honors College and the N.C. Teaching Fellows Program. Together with a new student recreation and new dining hall, both of which are currently under construction, the residence halls will form a quadrangle arranged around a formal lawn that will be the centerpiece of WCU’s campus.

The $50.2 million residence hall project is being funded through student room fees. The two halls will contain nearly 235,000 square feet, providing modern housing for students, offices for Honors College staff, lobbies, common areas and meeting rooms. One hall is scheduled for completion in July 2009, with the second building expected to be finished by July 2010.

Speaking to the crowd that assembled for the ground-breaking ceremony, Warren, an Asheville attorney, recalled his days as a student living in WCU’s Leatherwood Hall. “I have very fond memories of it, but it was almost spartan in its design. We’ve come a long way from that concept,” he said.

“We’re dedicating home,” Warren said. “This will be a place to learn what is good, what is right and what is kind – a place where joy is shared and sorrow is eased. This place will be what a home should be – a place where comfort is had and ideas of quality are shared.”

WCU student Maleah Pusz, a member of the Honors College student board of directors who was raised in Sylva, was among the college’s students who had input into the design of the new residence halls.

“We got to plan, discuss and dream, and to stand here today and watch as those dreams become reality for the next generation of Western scholars is breathtaking,” said Pusz, a senior who expects to graduate with honors in May.

Sam Miller, WCU’s vice chancellor for student affairs, said the state-of-the-art residence halls “will be the kind of facilities we can be proud of and stack up against any comparable buildings at any university across the country.

“This is a residence hall that also is an academic facility,” he said. “It demonstrates the kind of exciting and engaged experience we produce for our students here at Western.”

WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo noted that WCU’s Honors College has blossomed from 77 students in 1996, the year before the honors program was elevated to “college” status, to more than 1,400 students now. That growth is one indication that WCU is attracting students who are better prepared to succeed at the university, and that the students are more actively engaged in the life of the university, he said.

“Ground-breakings are always a delightful day in the life of a university,” Bardo said. “Today, we’re starting something special.”

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Last modified: Friday, April 4, 2008