Students get their fill of inconvenient construction these days on Kent’s Campus, but one construction site has Visual Arts students jumping for joy. TV2’S Kayla Hodge is here with more details….

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On Thursday October 9, 2014 Kent State University welcomed members of the community to come and celebrate the ground breaking of the new Center for the Visual Arts. This Event which was free and open to the public, was held on the second floor Cartwright Hall overlooking the center’s construction site.

While many people were in attendance one of the major movers and shakers here at Kent were in attendance as well. Roe Green who founded the Roe Green Center for theater and dance here at Kent was one of those major movers in attendance at this event.

“we’re ceramics, we’re jewelry,  we’re sculpture, painting. everything will be under one roof for the first time in about 40 years.”

the construction of this building will cost the University $33.5 million dollars, the construction site itself has over 115,000 square feet of space which includes 77,000 square feet of renovations and about 38,000 square feet of new construction.

The construction is scheduled to be complete by Spring of 2016, the center is a part of the “Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future” initiative which involves the construction of new buildings, facility upgrades and establishment of dynamic and new spaces here at Kent.

The center will help the Students within the Visual Arts Program be more centrally located, instead of being spread all over campus. Junior Fine Arts major Elizabeth Lax, is one of many Visual Arts students here at kent who are excited about the new building.

“Being a Junior Fine Arts major, I know that this new building will make it easier for me to connect with other students in my program, and it will also make it easier to connect with the faculty within my program. as far as the money being spent to built the new center… I honestly do not think that money could not have been spent in a better way.”

While students are jumping for joy about their new Arts Center, they are not the only ones filled with excitement about finally having their own space. Faculty here at Kent are beside themselves with excitement as well.

“While it is good of the students, its frankly wonderful for faculty as well. I get the opportunity to be with colleagues that I have never had the opportunity to ‘hang out’ with and discuss ideas.”

The Goal of this new center and the goal of the Foundations of Excellence initiative is to create the most out standing academic experience for students faculty staff and alumni here at Kent. This center along with all the other new facilities being built here at kent, will not only give the campus a new look, but a new attitude as well.

for KSU’S TV2 I’m Kayla Hodge