Hoover Hall addition dedicated
Hoover Hall, DePauw University’s new 48,600 square-foot dining hall, is “a very special building and transformational addition” to the campus, Melanie J. Norton, vice president of development and alumni engagement, said during the Old Gold Weekend formal dedication of the facility.
About 330 DePauw students, alumni, faculty, staff, community members and friends of the university gathered to dedicate the 48,600 square-foot structure, which sits in the shadow of historic East College in the center of campus.
The $32 million project, which took 29 months to complete (ground was broken May 17, 2014), came in on time and under budget. The lead gift came from R. David and Suzanne A. Hoover, both 1967 graduates of DePauw.
The Hoovers, DePauw President D. Mark McCoy praised, “recognized that DePauw builds lifelong relationships through a strong sense of community. And that community needed a place to meet, to eat, to interact and to share.”
Suzanne Hoover described how she and her husband, the former CEO of Ball Corp. and past chairman of DePauw’s Board of Trustees, met with different architectural firms before choosing Robert A.M. Stern Architects.
“It has been a long journey since we began even thinking about this and making our commitment,” she noted. “But it has been an exciting one and definitely worth the wait now that we are inside and can see what it looks like.”
“Seeing it tonight, it’s even better than we expected,” Dave Hoover said. “We hope and expect it to be a place where people connect, communicate, build relationships and improve and strengthen DePauw’s culture.”
The new dining hall is a product of DePauw’s Campus Master Plan, which was approved by the Board of Trustees in October 2010 and called for the transformation of the campus core into a place of greater connection, contemplation and creativity.
Hoover Hall will serve as the primary dining space for first-year students and upper-class students living in university housing and served its first meal to undergraduates Monday morning.
Hoover Hall will seat more than 600 students in the main dining room, with dozens more able to dine and come together in an array of smaller dining rooms.
“In Hoover Hall, the opportunity to fulfill our most basic need for nourishment will also encourage us to join together, connect and to create a culture of sharing and belonging,” President McCoy added.
DPU Vice President Norton called Hoover Hall “a magnificent building that fills a purpose far beyond food or shelter.”
“It invites a new heartbeat to the center of campus,” she added, “and changes the way those who live and learn here will connect, interact and collaborate. It will feed us in ways beyond the obvious and its influence will be felt for generations to come.”
President McCoy agreed.
“It is remarkable to think of the ways this building will shape DePauw,” he concluded. “How many students, like Dave and Suzanne, will meet their lifelong companion within these walls? How many times will a professor start a conversation over a meal that completely changes the trajectory of a student’s life? How many friendships will be made and deepened here? How many problems solved? How many questions answered? How many imponderables will be pondered within these walls? Such moments are the fabric of the rich and rewarding DePauw experience, and now have a home.”