Centennial Hall In Full Use

Centennial Hall has been in full use for half of a semester now and is getting primarily good reviews. 

Dena Huisman, a professor in the Communications department, says of the building, "I love the layout. It took some getting used to with the numbering system and stuff, but overall I think there's ample classroom space, lots of nice open space for students to meet and study, and the offices are located a little bit off the beaten path, which allows for quiet."  She says that she thinks it's still easy for students to find them even though they are not in the middle of the building.

There have been some problems with the technology in the building.  One being that there is a lack of clocks available for students.   Huisman says, "There have been some glitches in the technology in several of my classrooms, and that's been frustrating. It feels as if a few rush decisions were made, which is unfortunate…I've always managed to work around the glitches anyway. I love that ALL the rooms have technology built in and that there's overall consistency across the classrooms in terms of how it all works.  The TV monitors throughout the building that offer updates and notices of upcoming event are another thing that Huisman thought was a helpful technology of the building and a good way to save paper.

Total cost for the building was $40 million ($37 million state-funded, $3 million privately funded).  It is on its way to being LEED silver certified, meaning that it uses energy saving technology, such as solar panels to heat water, design to allow lots of natural light and to use 30% less energy.   Classrooms are outfitted with high-end technology as well.   The building came without clocks, however.

The building is the first new classroom facility to be constructed at UWL since 1974. The new hall consists of 44 classrooms that seat 40-70 students and 2 auditoriums that hold 250 people each.  Besides classrooms, the hall holds the Hall of Nations gathering room, 6 study areas, 3 conference rooms, and 10 department offices.