The Baker color palette of blue and orange soon will replace the color scheme of Harter Union lobby.
While the design hasn’t been finalized, some features under consideration are moveable furniture, a flat screen television, computer stations and new carpet covering more floor space, Dean of Students Cassy Bailey said.
“It’s outdated and definitely needs to be updated,” she said. “The focus is really to make it more student friendly.”
Junior Nikki Armbruster is one student who isn’t on board with the redecoration idea.
“It seems to me the union isn’t what needs to be worked on,” Armbruster said. “It’s perfectly fine.”
Instead, Armbruster thinks attention needs to be paid first to the freshmen residence halls, Rice Auditorium and Mulvane Science Hall.
Last week, three informational sessions were held to get student input on design components. After seeing color swatches, senior Jess Miner said she was a little doubtful about the design.
“The colors looked a little funny, but they might be all right once they’re all put together,” she said.
Provost Randy Pembrook said the plan to redecorate the union lobby came out of considering what Baker needs and what students see all the time. He encourages students to e-mail him any suggestions they have for improvements.
“The idea is to just change out a lot of things, update it and make it seem a little newer,” Pembrook said.
Freshman Bethany McClenahan said the current decoration scheme is mismatched and looks old, with no real student benefits besides sitting areas.
“I could see having computers,” she said. “If you have some free time sometime and don’t want to go back to your room or the library, that would be good.”
Since the lobby remodel is mostly cosmetic instead of structural, Pembrook said the changes can take place fairly quickly if the Baker University Board of Trustees approves the plans during its Oct. 24 meeting. The BOT will also have a chance to weigh pros and cons for other renovation proposals including Denious and Jolliffe halls, as well as Rice, the cafeteria and others, which can’t move forward until the projects receive approval.
Jo Adams, vice president of financial services, said some renovation of the lobby will take place this year and students can expect to see more changes by the next academic year.
She said the remodeling bill has not been finalized since the project is still in the early stages.
Student Suites, the developer of the Living and Learning Center, donated money to help with redecorating the lobby, although Adams said it was a private gift so the price will remain undisclosed.
“It will help with the lobby, but it is not enough to cover the whole cost,” she said.