Illinois Wesleyan's Hansen Student Center Featured in National Journal

June 23, 2003

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Hansen Student Center at Illinois Wesleyan University is the focus of a cover story in the May 2003 edition of The Bulletin, a publication of the Association of College Unions International.

The story examines ways in which colleges are designing student union buildings for maximum flexibility, both in terms of programming and offering a variety of kinds of spaces.

A photograph of Tommy's, the campus eatery in the lower level of Hansen Student Center, is on the cover of The Bulletin, which features other photographs from the facility as part of the article.

The article describes Hansen as "an adaptive reuse projected" which "transformed the historically significant, neoclassical Memorial gymnasium into a vital college union facility for the campus community. Interestingly, when student government leaders took the initiative in the planning process, they stipulated that the facility must, above all, be flexible."

The 33,000-gross-square-foot Hansen Center, which opened in January 2002, features a two-story bookstore, café, grille, information center, offices for student government and other student organizations, conference rooms, newsstand, and an outdoor patio.

The upper level provides student organizations, meeting rooms, workspace mailboxes, storage areas, and access to computers, printers, and desktop publishing. There are e-mail stations in the center and on the lower level, there is a grille, recreational facilities, and another lounge area.