Expansive new look

Here’s a video tour of the new front atrium.

The renovations to the Trone Student Center are well on their way to completion. When spring semester began January 7, students found the upstairs transformed, with spacious new offices and richly appointed gathering spots.

Among the additions are an expanded student organization commons, new administrative and student media suites, modern signage, and a new wing on the dining hall side (lower right photo) that houses offices for Career Services, Undergraduate Research and Internships, Study Away and International Education, Student Life, and the Center for Vocational Reflection (Lilly Center).

The highlight of the upstairs renovations is the front entrance, where students walk in to find a large “living room” and atrium, replete with video wall and fireplace. The atrium was provided by trustee Robert Hill and his wife, Margaret Platt Hill, both 1983 graduates.

The building’s new look has also created expanded sight lines to the lake and rose garden. J. Scott Derrick, director of the Trone Student Center, says, “One of the main thrusts behind this renovation and expansion was to reconnect the students with the lake, as well as to provide student organizations with appropriate collaborative space and to give the student body as a whole more space to hang out.”

The last phase of the renovations — revamping the downstairs food court, adding a restaurant, and reconfiguring the outdoor space on the building’s lower level — is scheduled for this summer. Once completed, the building will have increased in size by 6,000 square feet.

Contact patricia.carswell@furman.edu to support the $6.75 million student center project.