University Facelift Continues

Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Students returning to the University of Tulsa this fall might think they went to the wrong campus. A lot has changed in the last few months. On Thursday, TU officials dedicated the latest structure in their 10 year long building boom. The News On 6â€™s Steve Berg reports Collins Hall is the new face of TU.

They say first impressions are everything. So from the marble floor to the soaring ceilings, they made sure they got Collins Hall right.

"This is the first impression not only for our prospective students but people from the community,â€ said University of Tulsa spokesman David Hamby. â€œWhen they come to TU this will be the first place that they go. It will be the centerpiece for the new front entrance project here at TU, and then there'll be a fountain as well as a five-acre green space that will be the front entrance to 11th Street."

University of Tulsa spokesman David Hamby says over the last 10 years, the University of Tulsa has added more than a million square feet of new buildings starting on the west side of campus with tennis, soccer, track, softball and fitness facilities. And now theyâ€™ve added Collins Hall and the Case Athletic Complex, which will be dedicated next month in the north end zone of the football stadium.

As students, faculty and staff look up at all the new buildings, it would be easy to miss some of the improvements that have been made underfoot. Brick streetscaping is also new on campus, and will become more and more common throughout campus as the years go on.

"We've also added 18 new apartment buildings that have gone online this fall," Hamby said.

As a lot of colleges have, say goodbye to the cramped two-person dorm rooms with the bathroom down the hall, and say hello, as Amy Sarraf has, to a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.

"I used to like study and eat and do everything in my bedroom, and now it's nice to like have a kitchen, have a couch and have my own room, so it's been nice," TU student Amy Sarraf said.

Sixty-five percent of TU students now live on campus. They say all of the new apartments were taken in just three weeks.

Watch the video: The Changing Look Of TU