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CIU
News
Summer of Campus Improvements
New coffee shop, upgrades and
beautifications
It was a busy summer for landscapers and construction
crews on the Columbia International University campus with
upgrades and beautification projects bringing more of what
new CIU President Dr. Mark Smith calls “the wow factor.”
Some of the work has been general maintenance such as
new roofs to the Student Center and Fisher Classroom
Building, improved landscaping including irrigation systems,
and resurfacing of some parking lots and the outdoor
basketball courts and tennis courts.
More noticeable
“Wow” improvements
include the lobby of the
Administration Building
where the university
receptionist greets visitors from a new front desk that faces the front door. In addition is a new
large CIU logo above the receptionist, new carpeting, furniture and chandelier. Two lobby walls
are lined with an updated timeline featuring highlights of CIU’s nearly 100-year history.
But probably the biggest “Wow” for students is the new coffee shop in the Student Center.
It’s operated by Grace Coffee Company founded by CIU alumni couple Matt and Brooke Beyer, both of whom graduated in 1999.
The Beyers have a long association with CIU. Matt’s father is Dr. Bryan Beyer, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. Matt was in
the third grade in 1985 when his parents moved to Columbia and his father took a position as a CIU professor.
The Beyers headquarter their business out of mobile unit stationed along
Main Street in the north Columbia suburb of Blythewood. Matt Beyer says
the menu consists of brewed coffee, cold brew nitro coffee, lattes, espresso,
frappes, tea, and more. Want something else?
“Our baristas can serve just
about anything you can
dream up,” Beyer said.
There’s another CIU alumni
connection to Grace Coffee
Company. Their fair trade
organic coffee is locally
roasted on a weekly basis by
Beach Loveland, a 2009 CIU
graduate. Loveland operates
his own coffee kiosk in Irmo,
just northwest of Columbia.
Timeline
Grace Coffee owner Matt Beyer
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CIU Today
Fall 2017
CIU NEWS