2008 Woodie Awards
Strong managment vital to center
Dan Maxwell leads the way
Jessica Higgins
Issue date: 1/7/08 Section: CampusCenter
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Sagamore Staff
They were building it, so he had to come. After eight years as director of student activities, Dan Maxwell left Western Illinois University in 2006 to become immersed in something special at IUPUI - the new Campus Center. "It is very rare that someone in college administration (student affairs) gets to be involved with the construction of such a building," Maxwell,the Campus Center director, says.
"We are talking about a $56 million project. This is very rare to be a part of the construction, but I get to help create the planning and implement the student union program, which will now exist, due to the Campus Center.
"So, the Campus Center is the reason I came here," Maxwell says.
While it may have taken the new building years to become a reality, it didn't take Maxwell long to decide to move to Indianapolis.
"IUPUI has been talking about this building for 20 years, but the funny thing is where the building is now located used to be a surface parking lot," Maxwell says. "In the late 1990s, there was a sign in front of the parking area reading: 'Campus Center 2000.' As we can see, it took eight more years to get this magnificent building finally here.
"This is why I came to IUPUI, to be a part of this history in Indianapolis."
Maxwell says the new facility will be more than a center of attention on campus.
"People will not realize how much this building will impact Indianapolis," he says. "It will not just impact the school, but the whole city and community. This building will bring people together.
"The Center will have a stage where musicals will be held, musicians will be able to perform, and everyone will have all of these unbelievable festivities all in one building."
Some of Maxwell's responsibilities include the overall management of the campus facility.
This includes partnerships on and off campus, deciding how the center will be used, and, internally, the hiring, policies and procedures for the Campus Center, plus the day-to-day operations with the staff.
As this article is being written (December 2007), Maxwell is hiring management and all other job positions that will need to be filled before it opens.
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