Renovating The University Center

Expanding upon an outlet for dining, entertainment, and education, the University Center (UC) at Kean University is currently undergoing some new modifications, which are set to debut in the upcoming fall semester. The UC is three floors high and serves as a centralized area for students, faculty and visitors alike. Recently, renovations were made to the main cafeteria and computer lab, both located on the first floor of the UC. Other departments in the UC had renovations made as well, and the current modifications are being made to the game room, the dining area, the Cougar's Den and the pre-function lobby area near the Little Theatre. Many of the renovations to these areas of the UC were made according to students' requests. "We wanted to get ideas on things," stated Director of the UC Matthew Caruso.The game room, located across from the Greek Lounge on the first floor, will be quadrupling in size and will incorporate the land where the Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Garden was, which is now located by the Nancy Thompson Library and the previous TV room. The increase in size will allow more space for games such as Nintendo Wiis and Xboxes to be added for the enjoyment of students, faculty and visitors. In fact, according to Caruso, the new game room will include five Nintendo Wii stations, two PlayStations and two Xboxes. The previous TV room was a place for students and faculty to relax between classes or for visitors to sit and watch a show. The new game room will have an area for relaxation and watching TV as well as a movie station where students, faculty and visitors can rent a movie to view. Currently, during the reconstruction of the game room, the Greek Lounge located across from the game room on the first floor of the UC is serving as a temporary game room as the Greek Lounge has relocated to other rooms on the second and third floor of the UC. Once the renovations are complete, the Greek Lounge will go back to being the main Greek Lounge.

The campus eatery in the Cougar's Den has undergone a few renovations over the past years and the recent renovation of the popular campus eatery will give Kean University staff and students "more dining options" Caruso said. "The new Cougar's Den will provide an intimate dining area." The style of the eatery will be much like that of a coffee house, where events such as poetry nights will be held. Currently, an atrium has been added to the Cougar's Den located on the first floor by the game room and this atrium will sit 110 people. The atrium will be finished by the end of the current semester. The Cougar's Den will also be featuring some new food selections, and a taste-testing of these food selections will be conducted during Earth Week-April 19 to 23. Other renovations to the UC include the pre-function lobby area located by the Little Theatre on the first floor. Desks, carpeting, and comfortable chairs have been added to this area, transforming it into a place of study and quiet for students.