The African-American Cultural Center’s expansion project and move from Hatcher Hall to a new location between the bookstore and Women’s Center is expected to be completed by late spring 2013 and will include a library and student lounge.
The decision to expand the AACC has been in talks since it was located in the old Christian Science Education Building. The maximum capacity was about 100 people and proved difficult for holding events, according to the Director at the Office of Multicultural Affairs Chaunda Allen.
The opportunity was presented with the University Master Plan. The plan aimed to enhance the University community in terms of a “memorable living and learning environment,” according to the Master Plan’s website. The current Master Plan was laid out in 2003 and contains enhancements for the University stretching 20 years into the future.
Allen said she hopes the new cultural center will revitalize activities among students and professors.
“The old Cultural Center was a space student organizations would use for their own programs and meetings. We hope that will come back,” Allen said. “It was a place where professors would bring their classes for specific lectures.”
The new Cultural Center will have its own library, which will enhance the amount and types of books the center offers. Currently, all of the books in the cultural center are connected to Middleton Library.
“The new library will help us expand our collection of African-American books and authors. That will enhance the education,” Allen said.
Coordinator of African-American Student Affairs LaKeitha Poole said having the new center located between the University bookstore and the Women’s Center will also draw alumni and community members to hold their own events because the new center will have a physical presence it does not currently have in Hatcher Hall.
“We have a space inside of Hatcher Hall, but having the cultural center as a building connected to the Women’s Center and the bookstore adds presence for alumni and the community,” Poole said. “The community was definitely a part of utilizing the Cultural Center before it was going through this process. We hope it will return to that and expand.”
Two core committees worked alongside Jerry M. Campbell & Associates, the architecture firm, in the design — one for the AACC and one for the Women’s Center.
The firm had a series of meetings between students and staff to determine how to utilize the space, which will include a large multi-purpose meeting space, a small library, office space for the staff and a lounge area where students can study or relax. There was also a great interest in incorporating green space to hold events outside, such as Umoja and Juneteenth, according to Allen.
The AACC is the only cultural center on a college campus in Louisiana.
Poole said this center is setting the standard for the state, and the University’s new center could possibly be a model for other universities interested in starting their own cultural centers.
“The old cultural center was a space student organizations would use for their own programs and meetings. We hope that will come back.”
