Students Return to Renovated Residence Halls; Other Work Continues

Students Return to Renovated Residence Halls; Other Work Continues

Renovations to West Residence Hall include microwave, fridge, and movable furniture.

Columbia International University upperclassmen are returning to Columbia for a new semester, and for many of them, a residence hall that doesn’t quite look like it did when they left in May. 

Construction crews were busy over the summer.  There was a “total makeover” of West Residence Hall, creating an atmosphere a little more like home.  Each remodeled room resembles work recently performed in Memorial and East Residence Halls, and features new amenities such as a microwave, fridge, and movable furniture.  Walker, Founders, and Petty residence halls received new furniture, plus a “face-lift” with new roofs, windows and other exterior improvements.

Development of the new athletic fields continued over the summer as the CIU Rams gear up for the inauguration of intercollegiate athletics one year from now.  Baseball, softball and soccer field are taking shape.  The plan includes a central press box, concessions stand, restrooms and scoreboard.

Meanwhile, renovations to the G. Allen Fleece Library continue.  The library was heavily damaged by fire in May 2010.  Books that were shipped away for cleaning are back on the shelves, as crews continue work on a new entrance.  CIU officials project that the library will be ready for use by mid-October.