Winston-Salem State has been digging itself into a hole lately. The image of the university has been tainted and made dirty by unappealing figures throughout the campus. Furthermore, these occurrences are starting to make headlines in the news. When an individual visits the campus, he or she cannot help but notice construction and new developments on the horizon. Bulldozers cranes and dump trucks are becoming part of the “norm” on campus. WSSU is one of the most rapidly growing institutions in the UNC System. This became especially noticeable when enrollment doubled over a five-year period. At the beginning of the 2007-08 school year, over 5,800 students enrolled. Consequently, the rapidly growing enrollment has led to expansion in other factions of the university. In order to accommodate such growth, the university continues to construct new facilities, including residence halls and classroom buildings.
Over the last two years, WSSU has constructed two residence halls: Gleason-Hairston Terrace (2006) and Foundation Heights (2007). In addition the university is currently renovating the historic Brown Hall, which is scheduled to be ready in August for the 2008-09 school year.
Melody Pierce, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, provided insight on the housing situation for the upcoming school year.
“We’ve always had a great need for housing, we’ve always had more students needing housing than we were able to accommodate,” she said. “However, through construction, accommodations for housing will change.”
“With Brown coming back next year, we will have 2,300-plus beds on campus, which is an increase from the 2,000-plus beds that are on campus this year,” she said.
Pierce also noted that Brown Hall will have a fresh look with new bathrooms, new walls and an elevator.
The renovation of Brown Hall and the Pit area, construction of the new Nursing Building and plans for the Student Union (scheduled for the 2009-10 school years) are reflections of the ongoing changes at WSSU.