“She’s going to do big things so watch out for her!” said Ted Sauer, who was pushing a cart filled with dorm essentials for his daughter Kelsey Tyler at Belknap Residence Hall.��

Tyler, accepted into the School of Nursing, is one of about 2,000 first-year students moving into campus housing for the 2022-2023 academic year. Almost half of them are settling into twin residence halls that are part of an $87 million construction plan to transform the heart of Belknap Campus. One opened last fall, the other opened Tuesday near the Swain Student Activities Center.

Alli Edwards and her mother, Mary Edwards, of Cincinnati, couldn’t contain their excitement — or their tears — as they hugged.

“I was really excited that she picked Louisville because the campus seems very safe and the opportunities here, it seems like there’s a lot of them,” Mary Edwards said, holding a shopping bag filled with items.

Nolan Macklin, a track star from Dallas, Texas, who committed to UofL about six weeks ago, walked around Belknap Campus with his mother, Elisa Macklin. He is eager for track season to start, he said.

Mom’s best advice to her only child? 

“I want him to really enjoy college life. I want him to make sure he focuses on his studies. I know he is going to run track but the important thing is getting the grades and getting a good education and everything else will fall into place,” she said.

Other residence halls on Belknap Campus are Unitas Tower, also primarily for first-year students; the suites in Community Park, Kurz Hall, Louisville Hall and Billy Minardi Hall, and apartments in Cardinal Towne, Bettie Johnson, University Pointe and University Tower.

UofL Athletics has also opened a new residence hall this year on Belknap Campus near the basketball practice facility and closer to Cardinal Stadium, where the UofL football team plays and practices. Denny Crum Hall, named for the legendary UofL men’s basketball coach, will be dedicated in September.

Dozens of have been planned for incoming first-years, commuting students and transfer students.

Just some of the activities include a Cardinal Kickoff Picnic with UofL interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez; the traditional SOUL community service day; a pep rally and late-night outdoor games at Cardinal Stadium; a “Taste of Louisville” lunch; a “Looking for Louie” scavenger hunt; yoga classes and late-night ice cream treats.

Classes begin Aug. 22.

Gabrielle Ayers, marketing communications coordinator for UofL’s Office of Communications and Marketing, contributed to this story.

The updated residence halls will replace Threlkeld and Miller halls, both built in the 1960s. UofL expects to spend around $71 million on the project using tax-exempt bonds.

The new state-of-the-art dorms are part of a broader commitment to provide students with a safe, supportive and enriching environment in which to learn and live. One of the new halls will be adjoined by UofL’s new Cultural and Equity Center, which will be accessible to all students via the building’s exterior.

This continued transformation of campus is undoubtedly exciting, ushering a new era of student experience and campus revitalization. However, what’s particularly remarkable about this specific project is that the new residence halls were designed with a significant amount of input from students. In fact, students have been involved since the project began, before the contractors were even chosen.

That student involvement is facilitated by Grace Beebe, president of the Residence Hall Association, and Henny Ransdell, vice president of services for the Student Government Association. Both attend meetings at least twice a week with Campus Housing and the construction company (Messer) and both took over after their now-graduated predecessors – Natalie Middleton and Lydia Burns, respectively – started the process in the same roles.

“Lydia and Natalie did a lot of the early work, helping to pick out the construction company, for example. They got a vote to pick the architects and contractors and that was important because they were able to lay the foundation on what the student priorities were,” Ransdell said.

Among those priorities are gender-neutral bathrooms and at least a LEED Silver rating. That rating indicates the building was constructed and designed with sustainability features in mind; features like electric charging stations for cars and efficient heating and cooling systems.

And, most colleges are moving away from communal bathrooms, Beebe said, adding that this detail is an important piece of the overall student experience.

“When you talk about someone’s living experience, this will make it so much more pleasant,” she said. “It will monumentally change people’s experiences as freshmen and it will put the university on a path to be even more inclusive and fluid.”

While LEED certification and inclusive and private bathrooms may seem a bit high level, the students have been involved in decisions as granular as the furniture. In September, Campus Housing held a furniture fair to gain student feedback on some of these details, and Ransdell and Beebe were in charge of compiling that input to ensure students’ feedback was put into action.

“Having students’ voices involved in this process is so important and the feedback we have provided on behalf of our students have actually resulted in changes in plans for the building — things like better study spaces, spaces that are more visually appealing. We have told the contractors that students don’t really use this anymore, for example, or that they might benefit from having a whiteboard here or some signage there. They’re willing to take that younger, fresher perspective,” Beebe said.

Those discussions have drilled down as far as the desks and the carpet.

“I remember one day having a long conversation about carpet. And we were able to share how we use our desks so maybe they weren’t so clunky,” Ransdell said. “We’re getting so much say in these things and it varies every day. I truly feel that our opinions are valued.”

Aside from providing input at the furniture fair, students have been filtering their feedback up to Beebe and Ransdell through RHA or SGA meetings, service email accounts and general forms.

“We have tried to be very open and take in that feedback from any student who is willing to provide it and I think because of that, we’ve had a lot of impact on the design of these buildings,” Beebe said. “We would hear an idea, talk about it and then take the idea to (housing and the contractors) and they would make it work for students. Right off the bat, we knew we could make this project better.”

Both Beebe and Ransdell also believe the new dorms will make UofL better overall. For starters, the buildings will be more sustainable, inclusive and modern. But most importantly, they’ll be accessible.

“These are our entry point dorms and they will house a lot of freshmen who might not be able to scale up to the cost of our apartments,” Ransdell said. “We want to have a really great space that is also affordable for a lot of families. It’s going to provide a better experience for our students at a more accessible price point, so families won’t have to feel burdened.”  

New dorms will house a new Cultural and Equity Center

Another priority for the students is making sure that new Cultural and Equity Center is done right. The center will house the Cultural Center, the office of Diversity ����ֱ�� and Inclusive Excellence, LGBT Center, Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Social Justice and the Women’s Center – all under one roof for the first time in UofL history.

“This is an important piece of the university’s fabric and we need to make sure our students have a home that is individually theirs and not just something in the corner of a bigger space,” Ransdell said. “We are making sure it’s a dignified space they deserve.”

Features include a student lounge, conference rooms, a training room, resource library, student work area, student activity space, kitchen, barrier-free restrooms and a lactation room.

According to “The University of Louisville” book by Dwayne D. Cox and William J. Morison, Threlkeld Hall was UofL’s first co-ed dorm. During its early years in the 1960s, a wall separated the 126 women in the north end of the building from the 136 men on the south end.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s the Berlin Wall,” the director of the dorm said at the time, according to the book.

The dorm is named after Hilda Threlkeld, former dean of women.

In recent years, Threlkeld Hall has served as a living-learning community for honors and many scholarship students and, since 2004, it has hosted the Etscorn Honors Center. The co-ed residence hall now houses approximately 250 first-year and upper-class residents. Throughout its 58-year history, Threlkeld has housed approximately 14,500 residents.

Morgan Blair, Campus Housing assistant director of marketing and communications, lived in Threlkeld during her freshman year in 2010.

“I came from a small town in Eastern Kentucky and Threlkeld offered me a close-knit community on campus. At that time, it was the honors hall, so a lot of students were part of that honors community,” she said. “In Threlkeld, if you’re someone who doesn’t fit in elsewhere, you have a community. There is always something going on. It’s a place where everyone can have a social group.”

Indeed, the lobby of Threlkeld has served as a social hub for residents throughout the years, with movie nights, karaoke, video game tournaments, billiards and more. There is seemingly always something going on. Further, a “birdhouse” exists in the lobby, where residents write down their names and majors in the beginning of the year – an effort to foster that community.��

Campus Housing asked a few former Threlkeld residents to share their favorite memories from the hall, which included:

• “The people. I met some lifelong friends by living in that dorm”
• “The strong sense of community and everyone hanging out in the lobby having a good time.”
• “Threlkeld was in a prime location, super close to the SAC.”
• “The people I met. I have many friends I still talk to and see on a regular basis who I met while living at Threlkeld. That one year gave my some of my best friends and fondest memories of college.”
• “I chose Threk because it was in the middle of campus and close to everything. My favorite part was the community setting that allows you to meet new people and hang out with friends.”

UofL Alumni will host a homecoming farewell to Threlkeld Hall . The event will take a last look inside Threlkeld and will feature comments from former residents. Michael Mardis, dean of students and vice provost for Student Affairs, will also share updated on the new residence halls. Campus Housing will dedicate a commemorative page on its website to Threlkeld once the dorm is officially demolished after the fall semester.��

Renderings of the new dorm are featured in the virtual tour below:

“There is probably no other aspect of college life that has a great impact on LGBTQ students than housing and residence life — where we live, who we live with and how we feel about the place we come home to each day makes all the difference in the world,” said Brian Buford, assistant provost for Diversity and executive director of the LGBT Center. “Our staff is the best in the country, bar none. I have seen the care and love they put into every room assignment and into training every RA and that all comes from a great leader in Julie Weber.” 

Buford added that under Weber’s leadership:

• The housing team provides one-on-one support and guidance to transgender students to make sure they are assigned rooms and roommates where they can flourish and feel safe.
• Our Bayard Rustin Themed Housing Community has grown in size and prominence, thanks to Weber’s dedication to making sure students have opportunities like this.��
• RAs and RDs receive great training on being allies and regularly host LGBT-themed floor meetings and workshops to send a message of inclusion. They do a great job of asking residents about their preferred names and pronouns, and creating a climate of trust.

Buford also shared a personal story about Weber, outside of her work with campus housing.��

“Our students have been raising awareness for several years about the FDA ban on gay men giving blood. After the Orlando Pulse Night Club tragedy last year, Julie and her team hosted a blood drive for the victims and as always, we invited people to give in honor of someone who could not because of the ban,” Buford said. “I had loved seeing people do this over the years because it’s the kind of activism that I love most, but nobody had ever given for me. Julie called me and said, ‘Look I hate giving blood, but I want to give for you and I will do it if you will sit with me and help me through it.'”

“We believe very strongly in all of our students being as important as one another, and providing great service to each and every student that lives on campus is what matters to us,” Weber said, acknowledging her staff that is “so firmly committed to treating our students fairly and equitably and with the highest service that they can.” 

Watch Weber’s acceptance speech below: 

“I’m worried about adjusting from a small town to a big city. I’m excited to meet new people and expand and grow and try new things,” said Freshman Chandler Howerton.��

The number of students living on campus or in affiliated housing near campus has grown to more than 7,000 students — triple the number from 10 years ago.��

Check out more from Move-In Day in the video below: 

UofL Campus Housing Director Julie Weber recently told  that this type of “new apartment building environment” is no longer rare on college campuses.

“Housing has become quite a competitive advantage … Some surveys across the country will tell you that housing is in the top three or four criteria by which students make college decisions,” she told the publication.

The Nine and University Pointe living communities, for example, opened on campus this year. They feature Bluetooth speakers in bathroom shower heads, a yoga room, a self-serve Starbucks coffee bar, outdoor fire pits and more. They also include state-of-the-art study rooms with large computer monitors and whiteboards.

Weber said it’s important that housing is about more than the amenities.

“At the core, all the time, is to make sure that around the swimming pool and shiny objects, those things that we know will help students be successful in college are maintained,” she told Kentucky Monthly.

.��

Check out the video below about UofL’s new housing options.

UofL Housing Director Julie Weber says students expect nice amenities because “housing has become a key element in the recruiting process and it is now an asset to have this type of upscale housing.” 

Weber said it’s part of today’s competitive marketplace to offer students such amenities.��

Check out these new housing options: 

“This is the moment when a whole bunch of parents are entrusting us with the most important thing in their lives, which is their kids. That’s a big deal,” said Julie Weber, UofL’s housing director.��

Welcome Week also kicked off Wednesday and continues through the weekend.��

Watch scenes from move in day below. Photos are .��

Though Medals4Mettle (M4M) is an international organization, the UofL School of Medicine M4M program is unique in that the students have the opportunity to meet with their buddies prior to the race and personally present their medals to them after running. This year, 87 medical students will participate. On the Thursday prior to Derby each year, the Kentucky Cancer Program at UofL hosts a Cancer Survivors Celebration at the Kosair Charities Clinical & Translational Research Building. After the celebration, survivors walk to Broadway together to attend the annual Pegasus Parade. from last year’s event, including comments from UofL President James Ramsey.

This year, UofL basketball players Damion Lee and Trey Lewis, both graduate transfers who played for the Cardinals this season, will serve as honorary grand marshals for the annual Pegasus Parade, which marches down Broadway on May 5 beginning at 5 p.m. The parade in past has included UofL-affiliated grand marshals such as coach Rick Pitino, the 2013 Men’s and Women’s basketball teams, and NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, a former UofL quarterback.

Also this year, the 2016 Kentucky Derby Queen, , is a junior at UofL majoring in Business Finance. She is joined on the Royal Court by another UofL student: Stephanie Dooper, a senior majoring in Political Science and Liberal Studies.

UofL even houses those who protect the revelers during the week’s events. Julie Weber, director of campus housing, said about 50 Kentucky State Police officers will stay in Unitas Hall during the long weekend. In the past, members of the National Guard have also used campus accommodations. New this year, about 20 employees from NBC Sports will be staying at the Arch Apartments, one of UofL’s affiliates. “They were just trying to find something close and affordable for their large crew who are working 16 to 17 hours a day,” she said. “For state agencies or other service-type organizations, we’re happy to do it. It’s not a big money maker for us, we’re just doing our part to support the Derby.”

Other Derby ties

Some other Derby-esque traditions at UofL include a Derby Lecture Series hosted by the Chemistry Graduate Student Association. This year’s lecture features Alan Heeger, a Nobel Prize winner in 2000, presenting two lectures – one scientifically technical lecture May 9, and one geared toward a general audience on May 10.

The Department of ����ֱ��al Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development will host a Derby Party May 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Mary Bingham Room in the University Club. It includes a contest for best hat and Derby attire.

Finally, it wouldn’t be the Derby without a party, and Cardinal alums from San Francisco to Philadelphia take care of that. A complete list of UofL Alumni chapters hosting Derby parties is .