For the first time since the COVID pandemic, Calvin has welcomed students back to a campus without any major active construction projects.
Recent successes
Fall 2024 brought with it several newly updated spaces to campus, including a soccer stadium, a major renovation to the first three floors of Hekman Library and a new cadaver lab in the basement of DeVries Hall. Last fall also saw a major repair to the roof of the Observatory on the third floor of the Science Building. The previous school year brought a new Speech Pathology clinic to the first floor of North Hall and updates to the video production suite in the DeVos Communication Center, as well as the new track and field facility at Gainey. These new spaces the university has completed over the past few years have generated excitement among the student body, and have also increased productivity and connections for staff and student workers alike.
According to Dean of Students John Witte, the new space in Hekman Library is already seeing the outcomes that the University hoped for. Witte said that “we have really seen the space become the new central hub of campus in the way the designers intended.” According to Witte, the new space has been quickly adopted by the student body and has also enabled organizations and offices to have greater synergy with one another.
Furthermore, recent openings of state-of-the-art facilities for educational and practical use have given students more effective learning experiences and streamlined campus operations. Last fall saw the first class offered in the brand-new cadaver lab, and the new SPAUD clinic has been in full swing for over a year. Furthermore, the new video production suite in the DeVos Communication Center has been acclaimed by student workers who routinely use the space. Immanuel John, a film & media production major who routinely works in the suite, said that “the updates to the DeVos were fantastic. … [It] streamlined the process of livestreaming multiple spaces at the same time.” John added that the updates to the space enabled a greater level of professionalism and also resulted in higher quality to Calvin’s livestreams.
Finally, some renovations were made to keep campus in a state of good functioning, including the repair made to the roof of the Observatory. According to head observer Geneva Boersma, the old roof surfacing was beginning to leak and cause damage to the upper floors of the Science Building. Boersma also said that the outdoor observation deck is in need of replacement and that now “there is a solid surface on which the new deck can be built. … We are anticipating that the deck itself will be constructed when the snow melts and it is safe to work on the roof.”
Future plans
While there are still updates to be made to campus infrastructure, especially the aging dining halls, Witte says that there are no immediate plans to continue construction. According to Witte, Calvin is still raising funds for Phase 2 of the Commons Union project, which includes updates to Commons Dining Hall and the associated retail spaces — such as Johnny’s Cafe and the Campus Store. Witte said that “the University has made the Commons Union a featured part of upcoming fundraising,” but there is not yet a specific timeline for construction to begin.
Furthermore, while the University has announced plans to build a football stadium on-campus, plans for this stadium are still in the works. Witte said that “there is a team of folks working on these types of plans regularly,” examining locations and plans for finishing the planned athletic renovations.
Boersma is looking forward to continued updates to the Observatory. She said that “the observatory has been waiting on repairs for as long as I’ve been a student” and mentioned hopes for a new computer system and the return of the observation deck this semester. She also mentioned that while the sister telescope in Rehoboth, New Mexico has been out of commission for some time, she is pleased to see repairs happening in Grand Rapids.
Despite the lack of immediate plans, Witte remains optimistic about the future potential of planned projects. Witte said that the concepts for the new dining halls are “phenomenal” and will be a “much needed addition … that should serve our community well for decades to come,” adding that the teams working on other new projects are working “diligently” to continue to improve Calvin’s campus and bring it up-to-date. In the meantime, though, students can look forward to at least some time without any major projects causing a shift in campus life.
