Expansions to Russell House unlikely in the near future
USC isn't the only school in the southeast to outgrow its student union, but compared to other universities, South Carolina is lagging in its efforts to expand.
At Clemson University, a 108,000 square-foot student center was completed in 2000 in addition to the school's 36-year-old university union. According to Clemson's website, the $17.5 million Hendrix Student Center was funded through private gifts, student fees and bond proceeds and features a student bank, food courts and meeting rooms.
The University of Tennessee currently plans on opening its new 395,000 square-foot union by 2016. UT's current structure is about the same size as the Russell House at 210,000 square feet and the addition is budgeted at $130 million.
North Carolina State University spent $120 million to redo its union, which is expected to open in 2014. The new building will feature an added 77,000 square feet to the structure's current 169,000, an atrium to allow visibility of all floors, dining venues and overall increased meeting space for student organizations, according to NC State University Architect Lisa Johnson.
Johnson said the building was overdue for an upgrade, as NC State's headcount has more than doubled from 14,000 to 33,000 students since the original union was built in 1972.
Johnson said most of the decisions for the new building, from the consulting company to the design structure, were led by NC State's Student Center board of directors, a student-run advisory committee that operates separately from student government.
"It's been a very interactive process," Johnson said. "[The board] was very active in coming to all the design meetings and getting feedback from other students. It really took the students getting behind it to make it happen."
NC State paid for the renovations partly through "graduate fees," allowing current students who wouldn't use the new union to bypass larger payment increases. Johnson said this arrangement made students more receptive to the renovation plans.
Looking at the number of other universities that have made additions to their unions, including University of Georgia and LSU, Russell House Director Kim McMahon feels the time is right for a change. USC's Russell House stands at 218,000 square feet, the same size it was when it was last expanded in 1976.
McMahon's records show that the building received nearly 1 million visitors in Fall 2011 and serves as the central hub for nearly 30,000 students.
"The student body has grown, other buildings have been updated, but Russell House is still the center of campus," McMahon said.
The Office of Student Affairs agrees, which is why officials are currently working on a draft for a self-assessment study to determine the next step for the Russell House — possibly an expansion toward Bull Street or a new satellite building near the westward end of campus, according to Vice President of Student Affairs Jerry Brewer. The self-study would hire consultants to assess the needs of the campus and would involve a survey to gather student and faculty opinion on what should be done with the Russell House.
In addition to expanding the ballroom to fit 1,200, Brewer said he is interested in studying the area's traffic patterns to figure out how to ease circulation and possibly convert the adjacent portion of Greene Street into a patio.
"I don't think the main front-door plaza should be asphalt," Brewer said. "We would talk through [Vehicle Management and Parking Services] to discuss ... if we really need vehicle traffic on Greene and if we really need all these thoroughfares."
Future goals aside, the study still must be finalized and submitted to the board of trustees for approval and funding. Brewer said these kinds of studies range in cost and that "we want to hire the right expertise."
He did mention that Housing's study to determine plans for Patterson cost just under $200,000 and that the $50 million Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center was paid for with an additional student fee of $105, but he would like to see USC remodel how it funds the student union.
But that's all in the future.
Even if the university had all its plans finalized and $100 million to spend, Brewer said USC wouldn't see any changes to the Russell House for at least another seven or eight years.
"The union study isn't making any decisions; it would be collecting data," Brewer said. "This project would be a community responsibility. If you don't do something but every 50 years, you'd better do it right."