Contact: Erin Flynn
Construction teams are working on the area that will be the outdoor courtyard of the student center’s brewery.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. Big things are gearing up as Western Michigan University’s new student center approaches the finish line. Among its many innovative upgrades, visitors will enjoy a new brewery when it opens in the late summer of 2022, one of the first at a campus student center in Michigan.
In addition to offering local and regional beer, the establishment offers opportunities to showcase students ’work in Western’s sustainable brewing program.
The University is currently looking for an operator for the 3,000-square-meter pub, which will have indoor space to host live entertainment such as groups, voice performances and stand-up comedy to highlight the talent of students and artists in the community. wider.
“We want to partner with a local company or brewery that highlights the wonderful beer culture in southwest Michigan,” he says. Paul Fullback, director of the Bernhard Center.
A representation of the interior of the pub.
The pub will be open for lunch, dinner and afternoon, but the menu will be the operator you will have to develop. Terzino hopes it will be a space where employees and students enjoy, as well as visiting families and community members.
“If there’s a show at the Miller Auditorium, you might come over for a drink or a beer before you go on the show. Or after a game of football or hockey, you could stop,” he says. “There are all kinds of programs and events on campus that will combine well with a stop at the pub sooner or later.”
Four other casual and fast food restaurants join the student center’s first-floor pub, including:
-
Starbucks, the largest coffee chain in the world.
-
Fuego Verde, a real Latin-inspired restaurant.
-
MiPi, a stone pizzeria.
-
ReFresh Market, where diners can create grains, noodles and dressings. There are also delicatessen sandwiches, a large selection of drinks and snacks.
The new facility will also include a games room on the main floor with activities ranging from billiards and ping pong to sports and virtual reality, office and study for the student media group, a student organization center enlarged, an art gallery for students and several salons. —Some with hammock poles—, among other amenities. Even before construction began, the center was designed from the lens of institutional diversity and multiculturalism, or IDM, incorporating discussions about welcome and inclusiveness.
“From the beginning, we wanted to make sure the building was inclusive, so that all students feel welcome and comfortable, and that’s both within the design and the programming,” says Terzino.
A large staircase, which is beginning to take shape inside the building surrounded by scaffolding, will serve as a centerpiece in the student center.
The vision of the Student Affairs Division is for the student center to be the heart of the campus, enriching the student’s social and intellectual experience by creating a safe center for dialogue and a culture of civility. The functions reported by the IDM in the new facility range from an Affinity Mosaic suite, which includes space for meditation and prayer, as well as an ablution room, to an inclusive and adaptive dining experience. . All employees of the student center will also receive training in diversity and inclusion regardless of where they work.
More information about the new facility, including floor plans and a list of other building features and restoration options, is available online. The student center is part of Hilltop Village, a transformative development project that reimagines the southern part of the main campus.
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.