Renovations for Alumni Hall took place over summer and now the new and improved building is open for use. The renovations cost approximately $700,000 and were mainly cosmetic improvements.

“I just think it provides all the flexibility of the previous facility,” Joe Rubertone of the Facilities department said. “It just has a more attractive finish, better theater lighting and a better sound.”

The construction was done over the summer, beginning the Monday after commencement last May. It took nearly the entire summer and it was finished just in time for students to come back to school.

The make-over did not pose many problems for the University because not many people were on campus during the time of the construction.

“Summer Orientation was our biggest challenge,” said Kerstin Soderlund, director of the Student Center. Other buildings were used during that time as a replacement.

Nothing was done to the actual structure of the building.

“Other than the paint and ceiling work it was the original building that was built in 1968,” Rubertone said. “There was a storage facility created in the rear of the hall, along with new floors, ceiling, woodwork and paint.”

Along with the cosmetic changes there were a few other things done to improve the building.

“Sound wise, we have a lower ceiling, acoustical paneling, a brand new house sound system, which is state of the art,” Soderlund said.

All of this can be used by not only the many clubs, organizations and speakers that use the building but also by the Jazz Ensemble, singers and the rehearsals of the Hamden Symphony.

During the construction one major change was removing the outdated stage.

“[It was an] old, big, hideously ugly stage that was monstrously high to store chairs under it,” Soderlund said.

There was new staging brought in that can be assembled and disassembled much easier. According to Soderlund, the majority of the construction made the building more “aesthetically pleasing.”

Alumni Hall is obviously a prime spot for clubs and organizations, said Soderlund, who added that the hall is booked non-stop.

It hosts all of the multi-cultural Monday events, and in the near future there will be the evenings of dance including Israeli, Irish and Quinnipiac’s new step group.

Students who have already seen the construction love it.

“It looks awesome,” senior Cali Hettrich said. She uses the building for occasional RA meetings.

There will also be a large event for World Aids Day, and on October 11 two of the Real World cast members will be speaking. On these occasions students will have the chance to check out the newly finished construction.

The construction for Alumni Hall was officially finished on August 25 and there are not any more plans for construction in the Student Center area in the near future.