Photo by John Cross
Campus improvements already are paying off. Officials say the new CSU is one of the most popular sites during tours with prospective students.
MANKATO — You can say this for Richard Davenport: The university president has got some big ideas for Minnesota State.
Campus improvements already are paying off. Officials say the new CSU is one of the most popular sites during tours with prospective students.
He calls it the "campus transformation," a plan to pour $300 million - some of it already poured - into transforming the campus.
It includes a new $40 million residence hall complex, plans for at least one new academic building and hopes of turning MSU into an automobile-free campus.
It also includes projects already completed: the $12 million Centennial Student Union renovation; the $40 million spent on the stunning athletics facilities renovation that includes Taylor Center, Myers Fieldhouse and Otto Arena; and the $56 million expected for the massive Trafton Science Center renovation and addition.
The residence hall, CSU, athletics facilities and Trafton projects total about $150 million. The other half, he said, will come from other sources.
One of them will be a new capital campaign, although when that will be launched is unknown. Davenport said the previous capital campaign, which raised nearly $40 million, showed them that big sums can be raised by reaching out to university alumni. They have hired a consultant to help them determine how ambitious that capital campaign should be.
He also said they plan to solicit donations from some of MSU's most financially successful graduates.
Davenport declined to go into great depth about his "campus transformation," but said he'd be meeting with the vice presidents in the coming months to firm up a plan. Then when fall semester starts, Davenport will speak at length about the plan.
Among his favorite ideas, however, is to turn MSU into a pedestrian campus. He wants to eliminate many of the streets on campus, a move he says would both beautify the campus and enhance its safety.
"We've been talking about having a campus that is more self-contained, less automobile traffic and more foot traffic," he said. "More of a park-like atmosphere."
Also on the streets agenda is the ongoing issue of Stadium Road, which runs between the Gage residence hall towers and Blakeslee Field on one side, and the Taylor Center and Otto Arena on the other. Davenport said they'd like to reroute traffic or build a tunnel under Stadium Road.
Tunnels also are on the agenda. They would run from residence halls to the library and from the library to the student union, eliminating the need for students, faculty or staff to cross the traverse campus on sub-zero days.
An academic building may also be in MSU's future. One possible site would be the above the visitors' pay lot, which is between the Gage towers and the student union.
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