Construction on campus started this past year, introducing challenges for students, potential closures and course alterations on campus.
These projects fall under Marquette’s Campus Master Plan, adopted in 2015. The plan seeks to enhance the university’s aesthetics, modernize teaching methods, amplify research and strengthen community ties and core values.
The following three major projects are underway on campus:
Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall (College of Nursing): The former business school, David A. Straz Jr. Hall, is undergoing renovations to become the new nursing school. This building will feature spaces that mirror operating room environments and research collaboration labs. Work began in February 2023 and is slated for completion in summer 2024.
Wellness + Recreation Center: Marquette University is revamping the Helfaer Tennis Stadium and Recreation Center into an $80 million wellness hub. Set for a late 2024 completion, this 180,000-square-foot facility will include student services like the Counseling Center and Medical Clinic and will add a three-story wellness tower to the campus landscape. During renovations, students can utilize temporary spaces in the Rec Plex and O’Donnell Hall, a former dorm on campus.
Memorial Library and Lemonis Center for Student Success: The second, third and fourth floors of the Memorial Library are currently under interior renovations for the Lemonis Center for Student Success. Alum Marcus Lemonis, star of CNBC’s “The Profit” and CEO of Camping World, along with his wife Bobbi, donated $15 million to Marquette to establish the Lemonis Center for Student Success.
The center will use new technology and research to assist students in building skills to address issues such as social disconnect, mental health problems, academic difficulties and financial obstacles. Exterior work on the northern side of the building started this summer and is scheduled for completion by next year.
Additionally, there are minor projects taking place on campus, such as Wi-Fi and connectivity expansion, dental clinic constructions, roof replacements on Schroeder Hall, Wehr Chemistry and Wehr Life Sciences — which will also see improvements to the first floor and re-turfing of Valley Fields, temporarily closing the site.
Marquette University encourages individuals near the construction zones to remain cautious and aware of their surroundings.
This story was written by Uzair Qhavi. He can be reached at [email protected].
