Your Extraordinary LIFE 2018 Volume 11 | Page 9

COMMONS Student Housing and Dining Facility 2018 l l a  F — s  t n e d si e R o t Opened A large group of Life University faculty, staff, alumni and friends, as well as honored guests from the community, came out on Thursday, October 11 for the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for The New Commons student housing and dining facility on campus. This 99,000 square-foot facility opened to residents at the beginning of the Fall Quarter, on schedule, and it accommodates 362 students in its five stories. As part of the University’s 2020 Vision established in 2006 by its Board of Trustees, The New Commons will increase living, dining and recreational/leisure facilities to accommodate an anticipated growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment in the next few years. Also a part of the 2020 Vision strategic plan, the University’s goal is an enrollment of 3,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students by 2020, as well as an enrollment of 2,000 in the College of Chiropractic, with a waiting list. President Rob Scott, D.C., and Chancellor Guy Riekeman, D.C., gave remarks to the attendees, emphasizing the importance of the facility in the growth of the campus and in what the building conveys to those who live there. “The four resident floors are titled Give, Serve, Love and Do,” explains Riekeman, referencing the Life University founding ethos of Lasting Purpose. “Within these four floors are 12 wings, and each of them is dedicated to someone who we think is a visionary and did something to change the world, such as Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and more. There are Right: Cutting the ribbon for The New Commons. From L-R: Dr. Marc Schneider, VP of Student Affairs; Mr. Bill Jarr, EVP of Finance; Dr. Rob Scott, President; Dr. Kevin Fogarty, Board of Trustees Chairman; Dr. Guy Riekeman, Chancellor; Mr. Larry Riddle, Facilities Management Director; Mr. Terry Rubke, T.K. Rubke & Co.; Mr. Mike Collins, Collins Cooper Carusi Architects Below right: Members of the Life University Board of Trustees, administration, faculty and staff look on as the ribbon is cut for The New Commons student housing and dining facility. not only quotes from these individuals, but information about their history and the impact they made in the world. It is our hope that the students who live in these wings will become inspired to change the world and make a difference.” As part of construction for the new facility, approximately half of the old Commons buildings on the southeast side of Barclay Circle (the South Cobb Dr. entrance of the campus) were demolished. LIFE currently has one other on-campus student housing facility (LIFE Village Retreat), as well as the main campus eatery (Socrates Café). The dining facility is a full- service eatery, much like Socrates Café, with an outdoor seating area. The menu is performance-based to cater to the student-athletes who will live at the facility. There is a late-night grill and pizza menu as well. Future plans include two more phases of construction that include the demolishing of the remaining old Commons buildings to make room for more innovative spaces to further enhance and grow the not-so-little University that is changing the world. Alumni.LIFE.edu | 2018 7