8 northern today “IT’S GOING VERY WELL,” SMITH SAID. “THEY HAVE BEEN MOVING VERY QUICKLY.” BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE WORK ON THE Barnett Center is expected to be finished by the end of February, and the project is on schedule, said NSU Athletic Director Bob Olson. The $3.2 million project, funded by private donations, will include a two-story, roughly 24,000-square-foot addition. The first floor will include locker rooms, a wrestling room and offices, and the top floor will include a wellness center. The extra space is very much needed, Olson said. “It’s going to be a great facility,” he said. Right now, steel and concrete work is being done, he said. Workers hope to get the building enclosed soon to concentrate on News NORTHERN A groundbreaking was held on Wednesday, September 21, for the expansion to the NSU Student Center. The $6 million expansion is scheduled to be completed in 2012. NSU students approved an increase in student fees to pay for the expansion. Construction began in August. This fall a group of special friends of Northern State University gathered at the Barnett Center. All pictured have had an impact in naming a part of this building. Pictured front row left to right: Joe Barnett, Salona Wachs, Carmen Meyer and Coach Don Meyer. Back row left to right: Nate Reede, Jim Kretchman, President Jim Smith and Athletic Director Bob Olson. THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF PROGRESS ABOUND AT NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY THIS FALL IN THE FORM OF TWO MAJOR CAMPUS RENOVATION PROJECTS. inside work during winter months, he said. The project benefits the university and the community, Olson said. For the Student Center, NSU students wanted a fun, inviting place that had food and coffee, said Rhoda Smith, vice president for student affairs. “The students really wanted a place that felt like it was theirs,” she said. The new Student Center will bring dining services under one roof and expand dining options. The project includes a two-story Student Center addition and renovation to the facility as well as a second-floor addition on the NSU bookstore. The project is set to be completed in fall 2012. “It’s going very well,” Smith said. “They have been moving very quickly.” A new information desk will open spring semester and will include Java City Express, Smith said. This smaller version of Java City will offer brewed coffee and tea; grab and go foods; and bakery goods during construction. When the project is complete, Java City will be replaced by Einstein Bros. Bagels, which will offer an expanded menu while still offering coffee and espresso drinks, Smith said. The $6 million project is funded by student fees. Smith said students understood they were investing in Northern and in the future. “The students really looked at this as their legacy,” she said. The NSU Student Center and Barnett Center projects both started this summer. “THE STUDENTS REALLY LOOKED AT THIS AS THEIR LEGACY,”
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