With all of the negative impacts the pandemic has had, Father Curran announced some University plans that provide a glimmer of hope for the community.

In an email sent out this afternoon, he announced hopes of a new campus addition which plans to be built in the coming years. The email also announced Massman and the dining facilities will be expanded over the next two years. All changes will be updated in the campus’s 2010 master plan.

Sophomore Mitchell Blaine is excited about the potential of a new spot on campus. “As a student without a car, the campus can feel small sometimes, even if the sense of community is there” said Blaine. “I look forward to having another place to walk to and spend time in along with more dining options.”

The new building, which will potentially be built on the south east area of campus, hopes to encompass student housing, parking, and instruction space. The school will be accepting feedback soon from all members of the community.

He mentions similar to in 2010, the university “will select external partners to guide our efforts and solicit input from internal and external stakeholders.” Channels to submit feedback will be provided at a later date.

Despite the restraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement comes during a year of growth and change for the university and its students. Curran acknowledges the potential new space will accompany the transition of Saint Luke’s College of Nursing and Health Science on to campus, with the goal of becoming a leader in healthcare education.

The University’s president closes the email with a profession of gratitude: “We are extremely blessed to be able to continue our enterprise of Jesuit higher education, to welcome new companions and, in the spirit of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, to continue to respond to the “gentle disposition of God’s providence” by providing academic programs that meet the needs not only of our students but of those who they will accompany.”

Edited by Micaela Gutierrez