By Luke Lattanzi | Staff Writer
Jason Cook, vice president for marketing and communications and chief marketing officer, and Ross VanDyke, assistant vice president of enrollment management, marketing and recruitment in Admissions gave an update on the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center’s construction during Wednesday’s Baylor 101 session.
The session saw the first reveal of the widely-anticipated interior of the Hurd Center, which will feature a new space for undergraduate admissions, a ballroom for events, a new spirit shop and an alumni center.
Cook gave his appreciation for Baylor regent Paula Hurd, and her late husband Mark Hurd, who are responsible for the donation that made the Hurd Center’s construction possible.
“We know that this is just an exciting project in the life of the university, and we’ve all together watched it grow up on the corner of I-35 and University Parks Drive,” Cook said. “We really want to extend incredible appreciation to Paula Hurd. Both [Mark and Paula] really wanted to have a facility at the front door of our campus that would truly be reflective of the Baylor of today.”
The Welcome Center’s main purpose, aside from serving as an introduction to the university for prospective students, will be a new headquarters for the undergraduate admissions department, which is currently housed in the Wiethorn Undergraduate Admissions Center.
According to VanDyke, the first floor of the Hurd Center will feature a grand hall upon entrance that is just under 19,000 square feet. It will also contain an office space for undergraduate admissions and student tours, a Peet’s Coffee shop and a new spirit shop.
The spirit shop will largely replace the Baylor Bookstore’s sale of apparel and merchandise, though it will continue to sell apparel, but with more of a focus on books.
“As students and families and alumni enter the building, they’re going to be greeted with an expansive grand hall,” VanDyke said. “We anticipate that the space will be a spectacular first impression and a future hall of many memories of events and celebrations.”
VanDyke also said the entire Wiethorn Undergraduate Admissions Center is about 3,000 square feet, making the Hurd Center’s grand hall alone larger than the entire Wiethorn facility. Cook said the ballroom in particular will tailor to the many needs of the Baylor community.
“The ballroom is actually going to give us a lot of flexibility,” Cook said. “This can be set up for dinners, for example, but it can also be set up in a full classroom-type setting. This flexibility that has been interwoven into the building [is] something that’s really exciting for us.”
The second floor of the Hurd Center will feature the McLane Alumni Center, more office space for admissions and recruiting efforts and flexible meeting rooms that can be used by students. Student organizations can also request to host events in the Hurd Center, though no requests will be considered during the building’s grand opening.
One of the most notable physical features about the Hurd Center are the four columns that extend from the floor of the building all the way through the ceiling. According to Cook, the symbolism of the columns is twofold.
He said these columns pay homage to the four columns at the ruins of the university’s first campus at Independence; and second, the four pillars of Baylor’s strategic Illuminate plan.
The individual columns also have their own names and themes. The “Reflect” column will show images from campus on a screen on the ceiling of the column’s interior.
“We are looking to provide an immediate ‘wow’ factor, an Instagrammable moment, for prospective students when they walk into our facility,” Cook said. “This is really an infinite selfie room when you walk in the middle of it. There is going to be a screen at the top of the ceiling of the column and we will be able to broadcast different types of campus scenes.”
The “Aspire” column, allows a prospective student to scan their name badge for the day, which will then display their name, hometown and desired major across an LED screen extending to the top of the column.
The “Connect” column features an almost 360-degree video wall, which will show the latest audio and video elements to promote the university, Cook said.
The “Amplify” column is intended to showcase the impact of Baylor alumni around the world and to showcase the value of a Baylor degree. The column’s interior will feature a half-globe LED screen, which, according to Cook, is the only spherical LED video board in the world as of now.
Cook also said the columns are part of a larger initiative to incorporate the latest technology in the university’s effort of telling the Baylor story, as well as to connect with a different generation students who tend to be more technologically-oriented.
“We’re looking at ways to make an impactful impression on these [Generation Z] prospective students, but also provide a way to show that ‘Hey, they’re really special to us,’ as they are considering the Baylor family,” Cook said.
The Hurd Center’s grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 8, with a “soft opening” to take place over the summer months to move in the necessary staff to allow for the facility to begin operations.
Its projected hours are 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday, with Saturday being reserved for special events.
