Elliott Coombes
Students were invited last week to join in campus planning sessions with Credo, an organization that focuses on small private educational institutions. Session leader Dean Rodehaver was in meetings with various groups at Harding to figure out the best plan for Harding’s future campus adaptations.
“What we’re trying to do with serious meetings with faculty, staff and students is to say, ‘Here’s what we’ve learned about you, here’s what we all agreed to … and here’s some data to support what we’ve put together as potential solutions to some of the challenges’,’” Rodehaver said.
Rodehaver’s meeting with the University cabinet on Sept. 12 will present the options Harding has to update and grow its campus for both the immediate and future needs of students. Rodehaver says that “Harding’s enrollment is expected to increase by as much as 41% by 2030.”
In preparation for these changes, Rodehaver has taken time to quiz faculty and students about the adaptations needed on campus. Viewpoints of students on and off campus, freshman to graduate students, were heard. Nothing definite was decided through these talks, however they did reveal many topics Credo is considering.
Chief among these is considering where Harding has opportunity to grow, and what programs would benefit the most from it. Credo may offer a new building for the health sciences that offers an “interprofessional experience” for the students in nursing, physician’s assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs, giving them a simulated environment to learn in.
The Benson Auditorium is also a candidate for expansion in its lobby and its backstage storage, which would remove the need for the cargo containers that accompany every Spring Sing. Smaller expansions were examined for the Reynolds, Stevens and the Pryor-England Science Center.
The Pryor-England Science Center in particular was a talking point, as it is already comprised of four sections connected together. A second but more expensive option would be a new building for computer science, similar to the one being examined for health sciences.
Another factor while considering these choices is Harding’s mission to promote a close community.
“One of the things I like about Harding is that it almost gives a ‘big campus’ feel, but it’s a small student body,” freshman Tate Jones said. “It feels like the buildings are spread out in a way where it feels like you’re walking through this big campus but you still see the same faces.”
This feeling is influenced by the layout of campus and its various hubs and dividing points. Students widely agreed the front lawn is not accessible enough and would prefer more lawn seating and less fencing near the Heritage. Plans for this are mostly to clean up the corners of the front lawn; these are the entry points to the heart of campus. The Credo team is also considering clearing out parking in front of dorms Armstrong and Keller, and relocating that space to a bigger lot across the street, opening up that corner of campus and making it safer.
A similar change could be made to the front of Pryor-England Science Center. If the expansions go through, the parking lot would be taken out to make room, and that street would be changed to expand the walkway flowing down from the Heritage and McInteer. This also gives room for another outdoor patio like the one outside the Student Center.
To replace this parking lot, Rodehaver’s suggested plan is to remove the Lee building and make a new street in its place, reconnecting the loop.
Another change that would be beneficial is an expanded library. Compared to Credo’s other projects, Harding’s library is small relative to its students according to Rodehaver. An expansion could offer more for students in terms of community area. Whether it is more prudent to expand outwards or upwards remains to be seen.
Other projects students expressed interest in were accessibility for Harding park, on-campus club storage, new décor for the Heritage lobby, and the idea of rooftop terraces.
One concept Rodehaver asked students about was to take the Harding bookstore to a different location and to use that space for a hub that would make the Student Center more inviting to students than it is currently. Few students need the bookstore on a regular basis, and so is a prime location for something new.
Finally, Rodehaver pitched the idea of a multipurpose gathering center for large clubs who have limited spaces on campus to accommodate such size. This is more relevant now that the Administration building policy has changed and students can no longer use its projection system.
“That has been a very big struggle with a lot of clubs,” freshman Athenn Stewart said. “We don’t have enough of those spaces, and then we’re having to do crazy hours for different things.” While students enjoyed the chance to express their needs, none of these ideas have been decided upon yet. The final decision will be up to the Harding Cabinet.
