University of Dubuque Announces Campus Projects
Apr 16, 2019 | University Relations staff
DUBUQUE, Iowa – University of Dubuque President Jeffrey F. Bullock announced today two campus improvement projects that will provide needed outdoor space as well as additional classrooms, a student cultural center, and more. The projects are part of the overall campus master plan to connect campus after UD expanded considerably to the south over the last two decades.
Funding for the Howard Wallace South Common and Peter and Susan Smith Welcome Center is provided by UD Chairman of the Board of Trustees Joseph Chlapaty (C’68) and his spouse, Linda.
“Around here, we know Joe and Linda Chlapaty as ‘second century founders,’” President Bullock said. “In partnership with our Mission, their investments, and the commitments of hundreds of other investors, have positioned the University of Dubuque to strengthen and grow during this difficult time in higher education. Every day, Joe and Linda look for ways to improve both the aesthetic features of campus and the overall quality of students’ experiences as they live, study, and mature during their time with us.”
The Chlapatys said they felt Howard Wallace and Peter and Susan Smith, through their inspiration, hard work, and leadership, played a significant role in helping lead the University through its transformation.
Rev. Dr. C. Howard Wallace currently serves as professor of emeritus of biblical theology at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. He has been with UDTS for nearly 60 years. Peter Smith and his late spouse, Susan, dedicated their lives to UD, serving as co-vice presidents of enrollment management and university relations for 15 years until Susan passed away in January 2013. Peter still serves in that role.
Howard Wallace South Common
Located between Heritage Center and Charles and Romona Myers Center on 1.73 acres, the $1.7 million Howard Wallace South Common will be a vibrant space that includes a new carillon, reimagined Heritage Center patio with a fireplace, new west side entrance to Myers Center, and accessible sidewalks. It will be a series of sloped lawn panels that will allow people to circulate from upper to lower portions of campus.
Construction will begin this week and is scheduled to be completed in fall 2019.
The Howard Wallace South Common will be defined by two sloping brick walls with four-foot letters that spell University of Dubuque, welcoming people to campus who enter from University Park Drive.
“South Common will become one of the memorable ‘outdoor rooms’ that Tom Oslund, campus master planner and principal and director of design at Oslund & Associates, has introduced to our campus over the last two decades. This newest space will be full of new traditions and social gatherings, but it will also become an iconic initial impression for the thousands of visitors that annually gather on our campus,” President Bullock said.
The Howard Wallace South Common is the second phase of a multi-year project dedicated to outdoor spaces on campus. The first phase, renovation of the Quad, was completed fall 2018. As part of the first phase, the William C. Laube Memorial Bell Tower was decommissioned. A new bell tower will be constructed along the north edge of the Howard Wallace South Common with the cross that crowned the Laube Memorial Bell Tower incorporated into the bell tower’s design.
“The design metaphorically represents a ‘gateway’ to the future for students at UD. It references the nomenclature of the campus with the expression of brick in the main tower housing the speakers for carillon music. While the canted concrete wall contains the cross, the wall provides the ‘gateway’ frame,” Oslund said. “The bell tower and its associated plaza will become the landmark meeting place for students on campus.”
Peter and Susan Smith Welcome Center
The proposed 17,000-square-foot, two-story Peter and Susan Smith Welcome Center will be connected to the north side of Myers Center. Construction is anticipated to begin fall 2019 and be completed fall 2020.
“This new space will allow us to accommodate our significant growth over these last two decades. All visitors to campus, from prospective students and their families to alumni and guests, will transition through the center’s interpretive welcome area. Visitors to this space, which is being designed by Jeff Westrom of J.W. Morton and Associates, will immediately be immersed in UD’s past, present, and future through a series of interactive displays, artifacts, and images,” President Bullock said.
In addition to the interpretive welcome area, the proposed $7.4 million facility will have six classrooms, a lecture hall, a student cultural center, an academic seminar room, and office space for UD’s Office of Advancement and Alumni Engagement, which will be relocated from Van Vliet Hall.
“We’re excited to share these new additions to our campus with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests, and we’re extremely grateful to share this amazing journey with Joe and Linda. What an adventure,” President Bullock said.
