St. Ambrose University leaders look over a classroom in the renovated Higgins Hall during a building tour Friday, Dec. 15. The wooden flooring in the foreground is made of the former indoor running track in that hall. St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak called the building a combination of “old meets new.” CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
A historic building on the St. Ambrose University campus in Davenport is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a massive renovation project. Higgins Hall – once known as LeClaire Hall – has just undergone an $11.5 million renovation project that has transformed the 106-year-old building into a hub of learning, innovation, technology and […]
A historic building on the St. Ambrose University campus in Davenport is getting a new lease on life, thanks to a massive renovation project.Higgins Hall – once known as LeClaire Hall – has just undergone an $11.5 million renovation project that has transformed the 106-year-old building into a hub of learning, innovation, technology and modern classrooms, according to information from the university.
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Katie Van Blair, left, St. Ambrose University’s dean of innovation, adult and graduate studies; and SAU President Amy Novak look over one of the classrooms in the renovated Higgins Hall on Friday, Dec. 15. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
Katie Van Blair, left, St. Ambrose University’s dean of innovation, adult and graduate studies, stands in her future office in Higgins Hall on Friday, Dec. 15. Ms. Van Blair and others are scheduled to move into their offices this week in the renovated building on the Davenport campus. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
St. Ambrose University’s Higgins Hall – once known as LeClaire Hall – has just undergone an $11.5 million renovation project. CREDIT DAVE THOMPSON
The old basketball scoreboard is still in the building.
The floor labeled "Deep Water" -- one used near the former swimming pool, is now in a classroom.
St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak shows one of the classrooms.
This is part of the former indoor running track that is still in place in the building.
Students are in a classroom in the updated Higgins Hall. CREDIT ST. AMBROSE
“This building is the future of where learning is going. … It’s old meets new,” St. Ambrose University President Amy Novak said Friday, Dec. 15, as she helped guide a tour of the renovated building ahead of its official opening today (Monday, Dec. 18). That tour was held for several St. Ambrose leaders and Quad Cities media members.St. Ambrose staff and faculty members are scheduled to begin moving into Higgins Hall this week. Students are expected to attend classes in the renovated building right after the holidays.The building, which has been undergoing renovation work for the past two years, will become the home to three programs from the College of Health and Human Services. Those programs are: Bachelor of Social Work, Master of Social Work and Master Public Health. The university’s Institute for Person-Centered Care also will be in Higgins Hall.Here are some features included in the renovated 24,000-square-foot building:
New location of the Dean of Innovation Office.
Two observation rooms.
Nine classrooms: three classrooms with 30-person capacity, four with 25-person capacity, one with 72-person capacity and one with 42-person capacity.
One conference room and other support spaces.
18 offices.
The building is named after St. Ambrose alumnus and donor, Thomas Higgins, SAU Class of 1967. He has provided significant support to the Institute for Person-Centered Care and the Master of Public Health Program, according to the university.
The building’s renovation budget was $11.5 million. The university received about $5 million in historic tax credits and supplemental donations for the project. Another $7 million came from other university funds.
The building’s history dates back to 1917 when it was called LeClaire Hall. It was built for $115,000. The first floor included a basketball court that was once used as a military drill hall during times of wars. Above the basketball court was a suspended running track. During times of war, the track area was used as a rifle range to help students get used to using firearms.
The building also includes lounge areas and meeting spaces for students. Ms. Novak said the university recently conducted surveys of students and found that many students wanted to see more gathering spaces in the post-COVID-19 era. “They love to come to the classrooms and work with others,” she added.
St. Ambrose leaders are proud of the many new features in the building – such as large, interactive screens, places for students’ laptop computers and modern classrooms. But there are also many examples of the old, historic character of the building preserved for the new generation of students.As Ms. Novak put it, Higgins Hall is filled with many “old meets new” aspects. Examples of that are seen at the site of an old underground swimming pool in the building. The pool has been replaced by classrooms, but much of the pool signage remains. Flooring by the new classroom tables has messages such as “No diving” and “Deep water.”Also, part of the building was once used as a basketball court and had a large scoreboard above that court that remains as part of one of the larger classrooms.But the biggest example of “old meets new” in the building is the former wooden, curved running track that was located above the basketball court. Part of that running track is still in place near the old scoreboard. But part of that track has been pulled up, restored and used as flooring in some of the classrooms and other portions of the renovated building. That old track flooring is a centerpiece in those rooms. It shows up on the floor as a curved, light brown wooden flooring material that goes through the other modern flooring materials.“I love the idea of a student coming into these classrooms and saying ‘Tell me the story of this track,’” said Toby Arquette, SAU’s vice president of strategic growth, marketing and digital transformation, during Friday’s tour of the building.The university president added that all the “old meets new” portions of Higgins Hall are helping create a great place to teach today’s students. “Learning is changing, and this is helping us to change to that modality,” said Ms. Novak.The renovated building is scheduled to be dedicated in April.The updated Higgins Hall might be just one example of updated space on the St. Ambrose campus. Ms. Novak said a “master plan” is in the works to renovate gathering spaces, parts of the school library, Ambrose Hall and other sections of the university to update the school for today’s needs and students."If we're looking at the future of higher education, it rests with how we know a student best. Can we create a customized experience by recognizing their strengths, where they're vulnerable, and understanding their learning style? Can we deliver a tailored learning experience?" Ms. Novak said in a news release.
