Construction that began in 2017 on the Life University (LIFE) campus for a brand new, 99,000 square-foot campus housing and dining facility is making significant progress in anticipation for its completion by Fall Quarter 2018. This facility will be called The New Commons, and it is currently accepting applications from prospective residents for its Fall 2018 wait list.
As part of the University’s 2020 Vision established in 2006 by its Board of Trustees, The New Commons will increase living, dining and recreational/leisure facilities to accommodate an anticipated growth in both undergraduate and graduate enrollment in the next few years. Also a part of the 2020 Vision strategic plan, the University’s goal is an enrollment of 3,000 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students by 2020, as well as an enrollment of 2,000 in the College of Chiropractic, with a waiting list.
“The New Commons will help us support the increased undergraduate population resulting from our expanding academic programs and provide an exciting living and learning environment,” notes LIFE Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Marc Schneider. “Our student-athletes will also benefit from the project, as they will be able to live in community with other like-minded individuals.”
As part of construction for the new facility, approximately half of the old Commons buildings on the southeast side of Barclay Circle (the South Cobb Dr. entrance of the campus) were demolished. LIFE currently has one other on-campus student housing facility (LIFE Village Retreat), as well as the main campus eatery (Socrates Café). The new facility is expected to accommodate approximately 362 students. In comparison, the LIFE Village Retreat currently accommodates 300 students.
“This project, which is the first of three proposed, was more than a year in planning and development,” remarks LIFE Executive Vice President of Finance Bill Jarr. “It involved a great team who spent countless hours in an effort that will result in a pivotal moment for the University as it fulfills our Board’s directive to grow both our undergraduate and graduate student enrollments.”
The dining facility is projected to be a full-service eatery, much like Socrates Café, with an outdoor seating area. The menu will be performance-based to cater to the student-athletes who will be living at the facility. There will be a late-night grill and pizza menu as well.
With new undergraduate and graduate degrees being added every year, such as the Bachelor’s of Arts in Positive Human Development and Social Change and the Associate of Science in Health and Wellness in 2017, as well as the Master of Science in Applied Neuroscience projected for 2018, new students are expected to be on the campus, making further living accommodations a necessity.
In addition to the growth from new academic degrees coming on board, an equal reason for anticipated growth is the continued addition of more intercollegiate sports in LIFE’s booming Athletic Department. LIFE has added both men’s and women’s soccer, along with women’s basketball in the past two years. They have also announced men’s volleyball and women’s lacrosse as two more new sports to begin in the fall 2018 and spring 2019, respectively. This will give the Running Eagles a total of 20 varsity sports, including 11 women’s sports, eight men’s sports and one co-ed sport.
“The rapid growth of the Athletic Department at LIFE is a tremendous opportunity for student-athletes to receive a great education in a health-conscious and supportive University,” explains LIFE Athletic Director Jayme Pendergast. “The new student housing facility being built will be a terrific place for many of our student-athletes to live and build a camaraderie that will only help their bonds both in and out of athletic competition.”
With this new facility being just one of three in proposed plans, it is evident that LIFE envisions its not-so-little University on the precipice of extreme growth and continued advancement well into the future. Applications for prospective residents, as well as more information on The New Commons, can be found at TheCommons.LIFE.edu.
About Life University
Founded in Marietta, Georgia in 1974, Life University is a health sciences institution most known for its chiropractic program, the largest single campus chiropractic program in the world. Life University is regionally accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master’s, and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees, and also has programmatic accreditation through the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE), the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) and the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The mission of Life University is to empower students with the education, skills and values necessary for career success and life fulfillment, based on a vitalistic philosophy.
