FYI - $4.4 Million Siegel Center Renovation Planned

[Rambunctious]

If you want to compete for the best students and you want them to come from out of town to VCU, then you have to address not only the educational product and resources, but the health, entertainment and social aspects of student life. As an urban school, anything VCU can do to congregate students and alumni onto the campus and build a sense of community is a good thing IMO. I was there between 89-93 and there were far fewer students residing on campus - - the place almost emptied out on the weekend...and there was little to do on campus if you stayed. It didn't make for the most attractive all-around environment compared to other schools.

I drove by Cary St. Gym the other night and looked in - - I was amazed. That was not the Cary St. Gym I knew in college!

 

[mike7842]

Did you drive by the library? A mausoleum. Sure, students need an outlet, but academics come first. I taught at VCU for 36 years I think I am qualified to comment on student life. A lot of students juggle jobs, classes and family and time management is always an issue.

 

[JeffC]

I only went to the library probably 3 times during my years at VCU...I graduated just fine. Why do I need to go to the library? I had my books, my own room and that wonderful invention called the internet... kids have not gone to the library to study in probably 20 years or more...and when I was walking through the commons last week I saw plenty of kids with books and in corners studying...

oh and please let's not try and say that this money should be going to Academics...the overwhelming majority of money raised and donations to VCU go to Academics....Athletics is the ugly step child when it comes to that....we are almost dead last in funding in the CAA...embarrassing...

 

[mike7842]

Then, let's tear the library down and build another recreational facility. Or maybe a baseball diamond. No need for me to dwell on this anymore.

 

[major ram]

dream of dreams for the Stu?
1) Remove all retractable stands and replace with permanent seating-with the first row courtside...and a section courtside for the students...bring the end zones up closer as well...total focus on the court..it will still be utilitiarian enough to use for graduations etc...
2) Press row moved to the new skyboxes that extend over the existing seating.
3) Skyboxes sorta like the current balcony for the donors now
4) maybe elevate the floor a foot or two ...i dunno looks cool at Vanderbilt...
5) sell the stu to a private corp so we can serve beer....and give the deal to Legend...lol

 

[JeffC]

Now I can agree with that...they are a thing of the past...there is no need for them...most of the information is available digital anyway....

I could only dream of having the Academic resources and facilities that the kids at VCU have today...unreal compared to when I was there...

The only arguement I will even begin to consider to be a lack of funding for Academics is in staff compensation which I am sure you will agree on...

 

[Mistachill]

Noooooooooo....they look cool until the day somebody tears an ACL falling off those things.

4) maybe elevate the floor a foot or two ...i dunno looks cool at Vanderbilt...

I don't know. On the recreation website they compared our rec space to peer institutions and even after the Cary Street Gym renovations we were behind those other school.

PS - Have you all toured Cary Street Gym? MAKE IT ONE OF YOUR PRIORITIES - you won't believe your eyes (some of you older Rams may shed a tear.... ....)

this. As a student I can say it is awesome. I live alot close to siegel but cary is just so nice now. Something like 175 pieces of exercise equipment. If u combine cary's treadmills (41) and mcv's (20) supposedly we have more than any other school in the nation...

 

[prchdalaw]

Funny how everybody loves the renovation projects etc but when somebody talks about adding football everybody seems to think we can't afford it...

 

[eaglescout1984]

PS - Have you all toured Cary Street Gym? MAKE IT ONE OF YOUR PRIORITIES - you won't believe your eyes (some of you older Rams may shed a tear.... ....)

I got to use Cary St gym for 2 years, and then they shut it down. (I was living in GRC, then off campus and going to the engineering school, so it was right there too.) And I graduate last year, just before it's opened back up. Which more than anything kinda ticks me off that my fees were going to pay for rec sports during those last 2 years.

As for the Stu I say...
1.) Upgrade court side seating for donors and give the whole front row on the East end to students. (Yes those "creepy" guys.)
2.) Expand the north end so you can have more of a plaza and keep the concession stand line out of the flow of people getting to their seats
3.) Bring the AD offices down into the rec sports area and convert the arena side offices not into box sets, but like a club level so you don't have to change the layout of that wall, just remove the blinds, knock out the office walls, add table, etc.

 

[Mistachill]

Regarding fees, that's kinda how it goes. Somebody else's fee paid for things you enjoyed that they didn't.

As far as the Stu
1) Cool with me.
2) Is there room for that?
3) I've advocated that for years. I hope they do it.

PS - Have you all toured Cary Street Gym? MAKE IT ONE OF YOUR PRIORITIES - you won't believe your eyes (some of you older Rams may shed a tear.... ....)

I got to use Cary St gym for 2 years, and then they shut it down. (I was living in GRC, then off campus and going to the engineering school, so it was right there too.) And I graduate last year, just before it's opened back up. Which more than anything kinda ticks me off that my fees were going to pay for rec sports during those last 2 years.

As for the Stu I say...
1.) Upgrade court side seating for donors and give the whole front row on the East end to students. (Yes those "creepy" guys.)
2.) Expand the north end so you can have more of a plaza and keep the concession stand line out of the flow of people getting to their seats
3.) Bring the AD offices down into the rec sports area and convert the arena side offices not into box sets, but like a club level so you don't have to change the layout of that wall, just remove the blinds, knock out the office walls, add table, etc.

 

[Sometimes]

Now I can agree with that...they are a thing of the past...there is no need for them...most of the information is available digital anyway....

This is so far off-base it's not even funny, Jeff. The vast, vast majority of information available inside of a library as amazing as VCU's is not available electronically anywhere yet. And, as recently as a few years ago, the library is often filled with people -- just not the first floor, because they don't store anything important there. Travel to the third or fourth floor, and you will find plenty of people doing plenty of real research utilizing real sources.

Since having graduated, I miss having access to that library more than I miss anything else. You made a mistake by only going to the library a few times during your college career, and that mistake is pretty obvious from your comments. Only someone that hasn't ever learned how to use a library would be so blind to think that they're worthless.

 

[JeffC]

Well, we will have to disagree....I was able to graduate with two degrees, be an executive, own two companies and be successful without barely ever stepping in it...

and if it is always filled and so critical then why is a professor saying it is empty and under utilized?

 

[buckwheat]

sometimes- for the most part, i agree with your statement....but i wouldn't quite go so far as to say the vcu library is "amazing". unless it's received a major overhaul since 2002 or so, i would say it's rather ordinary compared to other schools.

 

[rollins77]

 

[VRam]

Then, let's tear the library down and build another recreational facility. Or maybe a baseball diamond. No need for me to dwell on this anymore.

I'm a lawyer. At the beginning of my career (20 years) I was always in the law library. Now I go maybe a couple times a year and even then it's just because I'm early to the courthouse for a hearing. Today, research done in law libraries is limited to academic exercises. Law libraries are pretty much useless in the real world. I would imagine it's similar for other libraries as well.

P.S. I was at the VCU library a couple years ago. It was a ghost town compared to the late 70s, early 80s. Of course, back then it was also used as a place to socialize and kill time between classes. The only alternative was Schafer Court and that was pretty cold December, January and February.