The highly anticipated opening of the University Center Complex (UCC) is coming soon, as most students plan to go on break for the holiday season and will return in late-January 2022.
According to Sara Klein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, “the UCC will be fully operational for the Fall 2022 semester, but we expect to have portions of the facility — including communal spaces like lounges, the game room, event spaces, and the fitness center — open sooner […] We will have a better sense of timing for the opening of communal spaces in January/February of next year.”
Offices including Student Affairs and Undergraduate Student Life are expected to open in late spring 2022, while residential and dining spaces will open for fall 2022. The Stute and Student Government Association offices will also be housed in the towers.
Students selecting housing for the 2022-2023 academic year will have the UCC as an option to choose from. Costs for students to dorm in the UCC are currently being approved and will be shared with students in December 2021, according to Klein.
The Residential Towers will house approximately 1,000 students, according to Stevens; whether this change to campus housing will result in Stevens Leased Housing (SLH) being terminated is unclear. Klein stated that SLH is “driven by student demand. We will lease apartments as students apply for this type of housing. We are hopeful that more students will be housed on-campus and that there will be less demand for SLH moving forward […] New first year students will continue to be housed in the current traditional residence halls.”
Klein additionally noted the state of Wittpenn Walk, which “is scheduled to reopen in early April of 2022. It is our intention that graduating seniors will walk down Wittpenn Walk as is tradition on the last day of spring semester classes.” On a similar note, the Gatehouse will be reconstructed when the UCC is completely finished, but exact dates are unknown.
It’s unclear when fences and construction crew will be fully cleared from campus. Along with housing, the UCC will additionally offer “fully equipped fitness facilities, private dining and café spaces, multiple lounges, high-tech conference rooms, and auditorium spaces accommodating large community events,” according to Stevens. The north tower will be named in honor of Richard Harries ’58, who made a $17 million donation with his wife Carol.
As the student body of Stevens continues to grow, the UCC will help accommodate rising populations and new classes. As 2022 nears, the “largest construction project in Stevens’ history,” as Stevens notes, will soon become a reality for students to experience.
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