It has been months of dust, noise, detours, and reduced parking spaces, but the wait is almost over.
McNeese’s New Student Union will open its doors to students in January of 2026. The construction of the building, which officially began on July 1, 2024, is projected to be completed Nov. 7.
“From November to the end of the year, furniture and equipment would be added, getting things organized and offices moved in for the building to be ready for January,” said Dr. Kedrick Nicholas, senior vice president of student affairs.
“Beautiful” is the word Richard Rhoden, director of facilities and plant operations, uses to describe the building.
The new student union will feature a ballroom that can be separated into five spaces, a new dining and kitchen area, offices for the Student Government Association and Student Life, study rooms available for reservation, and outdoor gathering areas.
“The goal for the new student union is that all students will find a place in the building in some capacity,” said Nicholas. “Whether it is going every day to eat at the dining hall, whether it is the functions that take place in the ballroom area, or visit one of the offices or spend time in the lounge, it is for students to have a place in there.”
The university administration has been discussing building a new union since 2016, Rhoden said. The discussion was brought about primarily because of the age and condition of the old student union building.
Nicholas said the Student Government Association put out a student vote for a self-assessed fee for the student union, which was passed in the spring of 2020. The university officially began collecting the fee in the summer term of that year.
This fee contributes to paying back the $12.84 million bond McNeese used for building. The bond represents approximately one-third of the cost of construction, with the remaining two-thirds coming from a no-interest loan from the McNeese Foundation and university reserve funding dedicated to the project, which includes a financial gift from a donor.
To assist in paying the debt, the university also plans to rent out the ballroom area to the public for events. The revenue from that would go toward paying the bond. Currently, one payment of $290,000 has been made for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
For Rhoden, who has been working on the project for years, the project is a point of pride.
“The new student union project means a great deal to me,” Rhoden said. “I was part of the first ones that started talking about a new facility way back, and so the fact that I have been a part of it, and it is going to be a beautiful facility, means a great deal to me. It is state-of-the-art, and everyone would be very proud of it.”
