The effort to improve student services and better serve the Kean University campus is continuing with two new construction projects. Steadily increasing enrollment numbers show that Kean University enjoys a positive reputation among applicants and their families, and the need for more classrooms and an athletics facility has been evident for some time. The Student Services Building was demolished to clear the way for a new academic building, and groundbreaking for the Health and Wellness Center on part of the D’Angola parking lot is planned for the summer of 2003, according to Eduardo del Valle, associate vice president for Facilities and Campus Planning.

The new academic building, whose project title is NAB2, will be 124,000 square feet distributed over four stories. “It’s designed as the academic centerpiece of the campus, and architecturally designed to augment and complement the Nancy Thompson Library and University Center,” said del Valle. “This will be an environmentally friendly and sustainable building. NAB2 will be the first higher education building in the state of New Jersey to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. We're very proud of this achievement.”

NAB2 will house the departments of English and Communications, and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences dean’s office, and will feature a lecture hall for 125 students, 44 classrooms, 20 seminar rooms, 13 labs, and 77 faculty and staff offices. The projected completion date is December 2004.

“The Health and Wellness Center is designed to be the new gateway to the University's athletic complex, composed of Alumni Stadium, the Jim Hynes ’63 Baseball Stadium, tennis courts, D'Angola Gym and now this Center,” del Valle said. “The new building will be sited so as to create an entrance court, which transitions into a double-height entrance atrium with another courtyard transitioning into Alumni Stadium. The entrance court provides the culmination of the senior walk at the North Campus, thus fitting into the overall campus-planning concept of the University.”

The center will be furnished with high-tech photovoltaic (solar-collector) panels, thus emphasizing the University's commitment to environmentally responsible architecture and construction practices, del Valle said. Solar power will be converted to electricity for consumption in the building. The massing and scale of the new structure will complement the newly renovated Kean Hall and will frame the Green Lane entrance. This building and Kean Hall will be attractive features as prospective students and parents approach the University from Green Lane, according to del Valle.

“The lobby area will feature a ticket booth, concession stand, rest rooms, Hall of Fame and student lounge,” said Glenn Hedden, director of athletics. “The gym area will be three basketball courts long and have seating for 2,500 spectators. Athletics staff members, who currently have offices on the East Campus, will move to the second floor of the new center.” Upon completion of the center, the existing D’Angola Gym will undergo a complete renovation.