Catholic University’s Constructive Summer

Catholic University students will be returning this fall to find two newly completed residence halls and the beginning signs of work on The Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center.

CUA’s newest bricks-and-mortar additions, dubbed Millennium North and Millennium South, will open to students Aug. 25, offering living accommodations for 348 upperclassmen, graduate students and law students who were selected through a housing lottery last spring.

The new residence halls bring CUA’s on-campus housing accommodations to more than 2,000 beds.

Millennium North and Millennium South will accommodate students in two basic living styles: suites and apartments. The suites consist of three single bedrooms arranged around a shared bathroom and living room. Groups of four suites will share a kitchen.

Apartments come in three-, four- or five-person units, with a private kitchen, bathroom and living room in each apartment.

Each residence hall contains common areas in addition to Internet and telecommunications access in each room, cable connections in each living room, a computer lab and laundry facilities.

An opening ceremony and blessing will be held sometime in September.

“I’m excited about the new buildings as an alumna and now an administrator of the university,” said Jenifer Campbell, assistant director for operations and administration in the Office of Housing and Residential Services. “We can now offer on-campus housing options, such as apartments, that are traditionally sought by students in off-campus environments.”

As for the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center, Cynthia Lee D. Mauris, director of campus programs, said construction workers started marking off excavation areas at the site, located on the lawns between the Columbus School of Law and McMahon Hall, during the week of Aug. 13.

The new university center will contain the following features:

• A ballroom that seats 1,000 for a lecture or 600 people for a sit-down dinner;
• Six meeting rooms, including one that can serve as a “green room” for dignitaries to use before speaking engagements;
• A food court and dining services;
• An atrium lounge and other lounge space for conversation, quiet study and group study;
• The campus bookstore;
• A convenience shop;
• Student organization offices and meeting spaces;
• A campus information center;
• An outdoor campus commons;
• The Office of Campus Programs;
• The Office of Career Services;
• The Office of Multicultural Programs and International Student Services;
• Disability Support Services;
• The offices for the vice president for student life and dean of students;
• An ATM;
• Lockers for commuter students;
• Computer e-mail stations.

A “phased move-in” to the building is set to begin during the fall of 2002. University staff members scheduled to move in first will “break in” the building and report any glitches they discover to facilities workers. Food service in the building is due to start in December 2002 over the Christmas break, while the balance of the building is set to open in the spring of 2003.

To view drawings and plans for the site, go to http://pryzbyla.cua.edu.