Many students at DePauw will be excited with the news that the university has committed to significant renovations of the Lilly Physical Recreation and Fitness Center.
But students may pause when they learn those improvements to the Lilly Center may hit their wallets more than they are used to.
The university is currently deciding if students - in addition to independent donors - will contribute to the ultimate cost of renovating Lilly through a new recreational fee that would be charged to student's bill.
Brad Kelsheimer, vice president of finance and administration, said that DePauw does have "strong philanthropic support" and that in an ideal situation, those outside donors would cover the complete cost of revamping the Lilly Center. But he acknowledges that the changes the university wants to implement to the center are not "inexpensive."
Charging additional fees to students is not uncommon at universities. Miami University in Oxford, OH charges a general facilities fee. Butler University charges students $275 per semester for recreation purposes. And Denison, one of DePauw's institutional peers, does not charge any recreational fees, but has a higher tuition per student rate, said Kelsheimer.
DePauw students already pay a health service fee, a student activity fee and, for students living in DePauw housing, a residence hall fee. If a student is a freshman, those are on top of the $440 in application and enrollment fees also required.
Kelsheimer said the decision to charge students is based on the start date of construction. He said at the earliest, a renewed Lilly Center could be on campus by 2014 fall semester. If the university decides to delay the renovations to the Lilly Center until enough money is raised from donors, it could take from five to ten years before students see a new facility.
Kelsheimer did specify the fee would only be added to students' bill after the center is fully operational. So only future students who are able to use the facility will have to face the charge.
Because of the implication to students, both financially and in regard to using the facility, Kelsheimer and other DePauw VP's have approached representatives of DePauw's student government to gauge the student reaction to possibly paying additional money for the renovations.
Cindy Babington, vice president for student life, said she meets regularly with student government President and Vice-Presdient Sara Scully and Mark Fadel and that they are her "go-to" people to learn what students are thinking. She said they were the "natural place to start" in this case as well.
Kelsheimer did say that the decision to charge students will ultimately be up to the university and the Board of Directors, but that the university is concerned with how important this is to students.
The actual fee is dependent on the total amount of money needed after philanthropic help and the total cost of renovations. Kelshimer said, though, that he could not imagine it being something as expensive as Butler's similar charge at $285 a semester. He said the fee would probably be applied to DePauw students for five to 10 years.
But the changes to Lilly will be substantial, said DePauw Athletic Director Stevie Baker-Watson.
Baker-Watson, who is entering her first full academic year as AD, has expressed interest in improving recreational and fitness facilities on campus since first joining the university last winter. She said one of the Lilly Center's biggest problems right now is just in square footage.
"This building should just be a hub of activity for folks," she said. "And because we're limited by space, it can't reach its full potential."
So much of the renovation plans are for simply creating more space for more students to be in the actual building. The fitness center will be expanded along with the addition of multi-purpose rooms and a large congregating place where people can meet.
An architectural firm was brought in last spring to evaluate the building and speak with university officials and faculty within the Lilly Center. The firm has submitted what Baker-Watson calls a "pretty picture" and now is working on their drawing - which takes from 9 months to one whole year.
Freshman John Marwede, who would be able to experience the renovated Lilly Center, said he is all for changes to Lilly and is willing to take on the extra fee.
Marwede said he uses the weight room regularly and that it "could use some renovations." He said additional space would help out the normally crowded weight room and would be beneficial to athletes as well.
Kelsheimer said there is no timeline yet on when a decision will be made. He and the other members of the administration will continue to engage students on the topic, but Kelsheimer said the early feedback hints that the new Lilly Center will arrive sooner rather than later.
"Initial feedback has been that this kind of makes a lot of sense," Kelsheimer said.