New student center approved for NCCU

After months of consideration, the UNC Board of Governors voted Friday to approve a $36 million student center for N.C. Central University.

The center will provide space for student services and activities, a lounge for commuter students and offices for student organizations. It will also have an auditorium and ballroom for events. Construction will begin next year on what is now a parking lot adjacent to the current, 50-year-old student union on the Durham campus.

UNC board members agreed that NCCU needed a new student center because the university has doubled in size since the old center was built in the 1960s. But there was disagreement about the size and cost of a new center, and the project was downsized from the original plan to a size that equates to 10 square feet per student. The 100,230-square-foot center will be funded by a per-student fee of $250 next year, rising to $350 per student in 2017-18.

NCCU Chancellor Debra Saunders-White said Thursday the university’s current center was inadequate and did not convey the level of quality education available at the university.

Board member Bill Webb agreed, saying that a modern student center was a key ingredient to recruiting students to NCCU. “I think it’s critical that you have a showpiece as a student center,” he said.

This story was originally published April 15, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "New student center approved for NCCU."