UofL News: The Student Activities Center is the student hub on Belknap Campus. Why do you think it is so important for students to have this kind of gathering space?��

Wildman: The space the Student Activities Center provides to students in institutions across the country is irreplaceable. I was telling a member of my staff that the SAC is similar to the Mirror of Erised (the magical mirror in ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’) because it is a space that students can go to find what they need. Students can eat, sleep, study, spend time with friends, work, get involved, and spend informal time with both staff and faculty of the institution. The learning that happens outside the classroom for many students is as important as the learning that happens inside the classroom, and the SAC is the best place for these opportunities.

UofL News: What do you want UofL students to know about the SAC that they may not know? What makes the SAC special?��

Wildman:�� I have been to about 30 student unions across the country, and each one is special in its own way. Most important, they serve the campus they were built on, and UofL is no exception. The SAC was built for a campus that is both commuter and residential with a focus in research. That is evident as the spaces within the SAC are designed for eating, studying, and gathering with organizations. The SAC has a lot to offer the almost 40,000 students it serves each week, around 8,000 per day.��

Among my long-term goals is to provide a student employment experience to students in the SAC that is something they can use to build their resumes. I also hope to find ways our students can serve the patrons of the SAC so that events are not only a joy for the clients but a learning experience for students. We will continue to assess and discuss long- and short-term goals based on the needs of our students.

Where’s your favorite spot in the SAC, or do you have several favorites? What programs are you looking forward to enjoying this semester?

Wildman:��I love so many spaces in the SAC, and I continue to find new spaces in the 422,000 square feet of space. If I had to pick a few of those spaces, I would choose the Red Barn for its history and the people that are so passionate about the community it creates. I also love the lounge space on the second floor. Students make spaces in these facilities their own, and this space has become a quiet space where students can go to think, relax, eat and study. It is such a versatile space with so much light and action.��

The events I am looking forward to this semester are endless, but mostly I look forward to being able to host more events for students in these spaces. Covid-19 has limited what we are able to offer, and what students are comfortable attending. So, as we prepare for orientation this summer and bringing new students to campus, I am looking forward to all that we can offer our fall 2022 first-year students.

“I like it better now than I did as a freshman … It makes the SAC more welcoming. Most people just came here to eat. Now they can come for events, food, the campus bookstore, whatever,” said UofL student Daphne Woolridge.

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Below are some additional highlights of the new and improved SAC.��

Last year, University of Louisville officials began an of the 28-year-old , offering students more than 112,000 square feet of additional or renovated dining, retail, meeting and office space.

As part of that project, there will be a new campus visitor space in the SAC – the��Herman and Heddy Kurz Visitors Room – where potential students will meet admissions officials, pick up campus information and embark on campus tours. For many potential students and their families, this space will be their first impression of UofL.

Project directors envision placing two murals on walls there that creatively represent UofL’s personality and traditions, while generating a sense of pride and excitement.

UofL is issuing a request for submissions for mural concepts from the creative minds who know the institution best: our own. Artists and designers who work at UofL, are currently enrolled or have graduated from UofL are encouraged to submit concept proposals.��

“We hope to highlight the talent and creativity of our alumni working within the fields of art and design and bolster ties to the community,” said Kim Butterweck, director of communication initiatives. “If designed by UofL students or alumni, then the murals become an interesting talking point for our tour guides. Our hope is the campus visit area in the SAC becomes one of UofL’s most unique and often-photographed spots on campus, while also contributing to our city’s public art offerings.”

One goal is to harness the power of social media with one of the murals. It’s envisioned as a ‘selfie wall’��– a backdrop that will inspire students and potential students to take their photos and proudly share them to their social media accounts.

As currently conceived, the two interior murals will be two-dimensional and printed on vinyl, with UofL vendors handling installation. However, project directors are open to other, more innovative types of murals, installations or materials that achieve project goals.

If interested in submitting a concept, click here to request the official Request for Submissions, which contains additional project information and guidelines. The project is a paid opportunity.��

Workers are also busy on expanding Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and building a new eight story pediatrics building in downtown Louisville on the Health Sciences Center campus.

“In total we have almost a quarter billion dollars worth of work that is involved with those four projects” said Jim Sears, associate vice president of facilities management. “And over the course of construction there will probably be the better part of 2,000 construction workers and their families that will benefit from this building investment. It is a very big deal.”

Check out the video below:��

Photo provided by Clyde Paul.

But Greenwell didn’t expect the physical campus would change so much around her – a new Student Recreation Center, a renovation of the Student Activities Center, and on Jan. 30, the grand opening of the University of Louisville Campus Store.

“This is a pivotal year as a Louisville Cardinal because we are able to witness the transformation of our campus with the addition of modern, state–of–the–art concepts and structures,” said Greenwell, the services vice president for the Student Government Association.

Greenwell, Dean of Students Michael Mardis, Louie the Cardinal Bird, former University of Louisville football player James Quick, student leaders, and officials from Follett Higher ����ֱ�� Group were on hand to celebrate the opening of the new store.��

In addition to textbooks and school supplies, the store, operated by Follett, offers an array of apparel and gifts, as well as��a fully-licensed Apple Store.

The store is located on the ground floor on the Student Activities Center, on the Floyd Street Side. A plaza outside the store will be built as part of the renovation and will allow for a large gathering point outside of the store.

“We’re very excited to be part of the renovation, this new gateway to campus,” said Bob Scholl, senior vice president of operations for Follett Higher ����ֱ�� Group. Scholl said Follett has 1,200 stores and the ambiance of UofL’s store is unlike any other.

Mardis said the ongoing renovation of the Student Activities Center will shift campus life.

“We’re really transforming the student center more and more into the heart of campus, the hub of campus, the living room of campus,” Mardis said.

The Campus Store will continue to celebrate its grand opening throughout the week with a 20-percent discount on a single apparel or gift item, daily giveaways on Facebook and more. See the Campus Store and for more information.

More photos from the grand opening event are . Also, check out a video from grand opening event below:

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The renovation, which began over the summer, will offer greater meeting space for the more than 400 recognized student organizations on campus, more and better dining options and common areas where students can socialize and study. The renovation is financed through private sources, facility funds and a $9.6 million agency��bond��funded by the current student activities fee.

Construction on the project has already begun. It is expected to be��completed in fall 2018.

“This expansion and renovation is part of a strategic effort to improve campus facilities — and the on-campus experience — for our 22,000 students,” Acting President Neville Pinto said during the ceremony. “By offering them more meeting and study areas, as well as better services and more social areas, we will improve their time on campus, which in turn will help us retain and graduate more students.”

In addition to Pinto, Board of Trustees Chairman Larry Benz, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Harlan Sands, Dean of Students Michael Mardis and Student Government Association President Aaron Vance spoke at the event. Each stressed the partnership between students and university leaders in completing and financing the project.

When Sands first arrived at UofL in 2015, plans were being developed for the renovation. He said the university listened to students’ concerns and helped develop a plan that addressed their needs.

“We listened, and we brought partners to the table to make this happen,” Sands said.

Vance, who thanked former SGA leaders who worked to make the renovation a reality, noted that the renovated SAC will be at the epicenter of the east side of campus, which is undergoing a physical transformation.��

“This side of campus is going to be nothing short of spectacular,” Vance said.

This is the first major renovation to the building since it opened in 1990. Mardis said the facility was transformative for the campus and that the building became the living room for campus, allowing students to congregate, dine, study and more.

The SAC is home to many of the university’s student services, including its Student Government Association, a number of dining venues and some small meeting rooms. It also houses the offices for the UofL athletics program.

During the renovation, the SAC remains open for use, though some of the areas will be closed at certain times.��

“It’s kind of like a jigsaw puzzle,” said Tim Moore, director of Student Involvement and the Student Activities Center. “As we’re able to finish a piece of the puzzle, we’re able to open that part of the building up and then close another part of the building.”

Updates on the renovation, including milestones, openings and closures, are available online.��

Moore added that��the new additions and increased space will be a benefit for students. The number of registered student organizations has grown from 260 about 10 years ago to more than 400 during the last academic year. And some of the larger events held by students have had to move off-campus due to space constraints.

“It will be the kind of place that will be more suitable for our student groups,” Moore said. “It will be a better place for the university community.”

East SAC updates

Construction began on the first floor on SAC East in June. Updates include:

• The former intramural offices and the racquetball courts have been demolished, and the new space is now offices and lab spaces for the Department of Health and Sport Sciences.
• The new campus bookstore is being built on the SAC’s east side facing Floyd Street. The new store will have an entrance from the street level on Floyd. The space is expected to be ready in December, when the bookstore will vacate its west SAC location.
• Construction of a Starbucks, scheduled to open in late spring, has begun on the corner of the building nearest the Floyd Street parking garage.
• Work on the plaza in front of the bookstore will continue into spring 2017.

West SAC updates

Work on SAC West will begin later this semester. Projected��timeframes��include:��

• PEACC and Health Promotion will move from the Student Services Annex later this fall into new offices on the third floor, which formerly housed the game room.
• The student services annex will be demolished and prep work will begin later this year to make room for the SAC expansion.
• After the bookstore moves to the new location in December, its former space on the west side will be converted into a new dining space that will open in fall 2017.

View more photos from the .��

Video from the ceremony is also available below:��

Among the biggest changes��are the new construction projects happening around campus.��Two new residence halls, University Pointe and The Nine, will begin housing students��this semester. The luxury-style apartments will add about 800 beds��within a block of campus.��In addition, Crawford Gym will be demolished in order��to make way for a new academic building, slated to open��before the Fall 2018 semester. But perhaps the most ambitious project underway this semester is the renovation of the Student Activity Center, which will add thousands of square feet of��meeting space and give the building a face lift in order��to convert it into the “living room of campus.”

“Housing and common spaces like the SAC have a big impact on student involvement,” said engineering student Chris Bird. “The new facilities are going to make it much easier for students to come together and get involved on campus.”

Students can also expect to see some changes in how they navigate around the university. Warnock Street, which serves as the southern entrance to campus, has been renamed University Boulevard. The new flyover ramp joining Brook and Iowa Streets on the south end of campus has been christened the Brook Street Connector. In addition, the intersection of Floyd Street and East Brandeis Avenue at the northeast corner of campus has been converted into a roundabout.

Campus dining options have undergone a lineup change as well. With its new dining partner Aramark, UofL now features��restaurants such as��Greens to Go, Aqua Sushi, Mark’s Feed Store, City Café, Twisted Taco, Panda Express, two Starbucks and four P.O.D. Markets (Provisions on Demand). Papa John’s, McAlister’s,��Einstein Bros., Tulip Tree Cafe,��Wendy’s, Subway and Chick-fil-A will remain open, with the latter three now offering expanded menus.

In the classroom, students will begin to see more technology being incorporated into lesson plans, thanks to the opening of the Technology Innovation and Learning Lab (TILL) in the Ekstrom library. Run by the Delphi center, the TILL will allow instructors to try out new gadgets and techniques to help��bring their teaching styles up to the cutting edge. To complement this, large lecture halls like those in Davidson, Strickler and Sackett have been outfitted with larger student desks featuring��power outlets for charging their various��devices.

In addition to these new sights around campus, UofL is also welcoming new leadership. Dr. Neville Pinto will serve as acting President of the university, following the departure of James Ramsey last month. Pinto will lead the university until the Board of Trustees selects a permanent president. English professor Dale Billingsley has stepped into Pinto’s former role as interim vice president and provost.

Cardinal Ambassador Rachel Casey is excited to start the school year at the improved Belknap campus. “When it’s all said and done, there’s not going to be another university on Kentucky that looks as good as ours,” she said.

This new chapter in UofL’s story began in late July when medical and dental students returned to the classroom.��On Aug. 17, students will descend upon campus for the annual move-in. Undergraduate classes begin Aug. 22.