A new student union may be in the works for Baldwin Wallace University.
“As this institution thinks about its future, both in terms of what we offer and what programs of study people want, a part of thinking ahead is how our facilities support our mission and what we want to do,” Dr. Trina Dobberstein, Dean of Students and Vice Presidents of Student Affairs, said.
The Board of Trustees’s most current idea involves a new student union being built next to the Lou Higgins Recreational Center, opening up possibilities for a fusion building that would encompass both the student union and the recreational center. Stroscaker Hall, the current student union, would become the main administrative building.
Initially, the plan was for extensive renovations to be made to Strosacker to better suit the advancing amenity-based needs of students. However, building a new union altogether arose as the more cost effective idea.
“All of this is dependent upon where fundraising would fit because we would have to raise money. Any of these kinds of things are big-ticket items. We are hiring, as we speak, a new Advancement Vice President,” Dobberstein added.
The new union may not be finalized, but it is definitely in the long-term plan for the campus’s future, as are other big changes.
Deconstruction of the Math and Computer Science building and Kohler Residence Hall is also in the works.  MACS would be turned into green space to offer a place for gathering and activities and Kohler would be rebuilt as a new residence hall.If the administrative offices are moved to the Union, then math and computer science courses and offices could be moved to Bonds. This would add another academic building to south campus, which would allow academic classes to be spread throughout campus.
“Lots of changes may be on the horizon,” Dobberstein said.