The IUPUI Campus Center

About the Center

Message from the Director

January 29, 2009

Greetings from the Campus Center!

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

It has been an exciting first year for the Campus Center. I am excited to share with you that the Campus Center hosted over 6,000 events in our first year of being open. We have also begun to track how individuals are coming in and exiting the Campus Center through all of the major entrances including the skybridge from Cavanaugh Hall. In the near future, we will have a link off of the Campus Center website where you can view fun facts and usage reports on the Campus Center.

I am pleased to share with you that Josh Berger has joined the Chartwells staff as the new director of Campus Food Services. Josh is very easy to work with and is a true partner for Chartwells with the Campus Center and to all of the students, staff and faculty who utilize Chartwells and their many services. Chartwells recently announced a few changes for 2009! Wild Greens in the Campus Center Food Court will be offering a Baked Potato Bar. If you have not already tried it out, you should stop by soon. You will be able grab a plain, vegetarian or loaded baked potato for lunch! Also, The Spotz Grille opened on Monday, January 19th in the Campus Center Food Court; there is a wide variety of options on the menu, from appetizers to entrees and delicious homemade favorites.

We have placed new plants in the Citizens Commons and in the atrium to add a little natural green to the Campus Center. The five planters are all on the first floor and are a compliment to the two beautiful trees we have by the two main entrances by University Blvd. and by the Information Desk. A big thanks to Assistant Director Burnel Coulon for coordinating these efforts.

The Campus Center Games Room renovation project is well underway. If you have been down to the Theatre Level you can see the fresh paint on the walls and the carpet has been layed. We are busy now finalizing the purchase of a billiards table, electronic games, additional seating and tables for games. We have a full timeline on our website and anticipate having the Games Room completed by mid to late March 2009. Please feel free to contact Assistant Director Burnel Coulon (bcoulon@iupui.edu) if you have any suggestions for the Games Room.

The floors of the Campus Center remain the same, but we are certainly not done with evaluating them. Throughout the month of November, the 4th floor went under a retro-platting process to see if the appearance could be improved. While the floor appears to have a more evenly applied stain and it has a little bit more of a shine, it still does not meet the expectation of the University Architects Office and the IUPUI Administration. Currently, another option is being explored in partnership with SmithGroup, the architect firm who designed the Campus Center, and the University Architect's Office. Hopefully, more information will be available in the near future.

As I shared with you earlier, the meeting rooms and reserved space are being used quite a bit. I would like to thank all student organizations, departments and schools, along with our friends at the IU Foundation, and clients from the city of Indianapolis for their on-going commitment to the Campus Center. We have developed a customer service survey that we will begin sending electronically after each event to begin to capture your thoughts, suggestions and ideas on how to improve our service and enhance your meetings. In addition, we will be rolling out an online reservation program in the near future to help reduce paper usage and also your time in having to come to the office to complete the reservation forms. I ask for your continued patience as we roll out this electronic service and work out any kinks we may find along the way.

One last note, we will be coordinating some on-going assessments of our first year. With the assistance from my staff and graduate studens in the Higher Education and Student Affairs program, we will be hosting a series of focus groups to gain your perspective on how the Campus Center is being utilized and how our operations could improve over time.

It continues to be a pleasure and honor to serve as the Director of this very beautiful facility. I have an amazing student, graduate and full-time staff who make the Campus Center run day in and day out. I could not do this without them.

Thank you for your support, your involvment and your Jaguar Pride!

Peace,
Dan