ULM hosts ribbon cutting for modern, new student union on campus, expected open Aug. 29
Students at the University of Louisiana Monroe now have a new, modern student union on campus.
The new building, called The Hub, is a contemporary two-story, 23,000-plus facility with seats for more than 600, located on the corner of University Avenue and Northeast Drive.
The university hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new student building on Friday that included students, faculty and local public officials such as Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis, Sterlington Mayor Cesar Velasquez and Rep. Adrian Fisher (D-Monroe).
The $11.6 million facility is a partnership with Aramark, which provides food services at ULM. Aramark invested $6 million in the project, with the remainder coming from student facilities fees.
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ULM President Ron Berry touted the partnership between the university and the food service giant during his remarks at Friday's ceremony. Berry noted that everyone is witnessing the result of synergistic relationships.
"The partner that made this possible, they're sitting over here and you're going to hear from them in a minute," Berry said. "But Aramark has been a fantastic partner with us. The president and chief operating officer [Mark Bruno] is here with us today. Do you know what it means to have the president of a company like Aramark to fly to Monroe to be with us to share in this excitement and energy?"
"Yesterday, we had an opportunity to meet for like 10 to 15 minutes but it turned into over an hour because we got so excited talking about this building and future projects which will bring to our students and community that proves to the world that ULM really is the best in the world in what we do and we really are that way because of our relationships," Berry continued.
The existing Student Union Building, commonly referred to as the SUB, was constructed in 1938. It houses restaurants, the U.S. Post Office, meeting rooms, ballrooms, and several offices. Aramark will continue to operate a large kitchen in the SUB.
The new facility features five dining options, including Starbucks, Subway, Flip Kitchen, Bento Sushi, Chick-Fil-A and a small market with fresh food and groceries. It also has versatile space with modern décor, group seating, meeting areas, WIFI and charging outlets.
2021: ULM to break ground on The HUB dining hall
Development of the facility started under the leadership of previous university president Nick Bruno with plans to start construction and open the facility just before fall 2021, however, COVID halted the plans.
Numerous delays have prevented the facility from opening as anticipated on Saturday, ULM Auxiliary Enterprise and Student Services Director Tommy Walpole said.
"Our goal, of course, was to open The Hub to the ULM family tomorrow and we almost made it," Walpole said. "We're going to fall a little short. We're going to let everybody know today, that delays in some of the items that we needed for the restaurant concepts and believe it or not, including five to six sinks, a prep desk, a desk, three ice machines, caused to delay the health department inspection so we don't have enough time to train everyone."
The university will host a grand opening of the facility on Aug. 29 at 7 a.m.
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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: ULM hosts ribbon cutting for new student union, opens Aug. 29
