Marquette alumni and current students who have lived in McCormick Hall remember their time spent there as the news of the building being demolished in May was announced.
McCormick hall has been unoccupied for this past academic year.
Alumnus Chris Keane, Class of 1989, lived in McCormick as a freshman from 1985-’86 and said he felt sad that McCormick is being demolished.
“Obviously in the refurbishment, I’m sure everyone will love the new building or whatever ends up going in its place,” Keane said. “But for those of us who lived there, it’s kind of sad to see a part of your college memories go away.”
Keane said his son will be attending Marquette next year, but will have a different experience because he will not be able to live in McCormick.
“That’s exciting that he’ll be in a newer building, but it really would’ve been cool if he was living in a building his dad lived in,” Keane said.
Bob Dysart, Class of 1985, lived in McCormick his freshman year.
“I feel nostalgic but not sad,” Dysart said. “I’ll miss the reminder of my memories there … it was a lot of fun. But I’m not sad.”
Not just alumni are feeling nostalgia as McCormick’s time at Marquette comes to an end. Molly Brown, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration who lived in McCormick last year, said she also feels sad the building will be gone soon.
“I think everyone will miss McCormick,” Brown said. “It was such a social dorm and I feel like even people who didn’t live there have memories from it.”
Riley Knapp, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said living in McCormick was an integral part of her freshman year.
“When I think about such an iconic building being torn down it makes me really sad to think about the generations of people who’ve filtered through that building and met their best friends there,” Knapp said. “Living in McCormick was such an iconic and important experience, and although I’m sad about it coming to an end, I’m honored to have had the chance to live there and be a part of the last group of people to make life-long memories there.”
Lora Strigens, vice president for planning and facility operations, said the Beyond Boundaries Master Plan has always called for the demolition of McCormick. McCormick will be replaced with a green space until a new building is approved by the Board of Trustees.
“In an ideal scenario, we would typically demolish a building in concert with a new building in its place,” Strigens said in an email. “However, there are times we choose to demolish independent of a timeline for new construction. The former Jesuit Residence is one such recent example.”
Strigens said a great deal of cost-benefit analysis went into this decision.
“As McCormick has continued to age and deferred maintenance costs have continued to accrue, we have continually assessed what the cost/benefit of demolition would be whether part of a new capital project or not,” Strigens said in an email. “Due to the current construction boom in Milwaukee, costs for demolition work have been more favorable than in recent years.”
Joel Pogodzinski, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the University Leadership Council said the costs of maintaining McCormick were no longer “economically prudent for the university.”
