Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Schools In Focus: KSU’s New Multicultural Student Center

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 12/08/20

Schools In Focus is a podcast dedicated to the design, planning and management of educational facilities and campuses. Listen in as senior editor Yvonne Marquez chats with industry experts, facility managers, architects, security and safety professionals, and other thought leaders. Catch up on previous episodes here.

Today's episode is on Kansas State University's new multicultural student center.

Schools In Focus, Episode 9: KSU's New Multicultural Student Center

Schools In Focus podcast logo on the left and Ishita Banerjii's headshot on the right.  

Kansas State University debuted a brand-new building last month. The Morris Family Multicultural Student Center is a space for campus organizations to advance student diversity, social justice and inclusion. The team of architects and designers behind the project was mostly made up of women.

In this episode of Schools In Focus, I spoke to Ishita Banerjii, project architect at Hollis + Miller, to talk about the new multicultural student center. The building features various gathering spaces from dance studios, huddle rooms, and a commercial kitchen.

We discuss the vision behind the center, how the team incorporated feedback from numerous student groups, and the significance of having a multicultural student center on campus in the Midwest.

KSU Multicultural Student Center. Courtesy of Hollis + Miller.

“In the long run, KSU does identify this as an opportunity to advance enrollment on campus,” Banerjii says. “Being in the Midwest, it’s kind of hard to let the word out of how welcoming they are towards the multicultural community or the diversity on campus. Essentially, they see this as an opportunity to reach out to students who would not consider KSU just for its location or the possibility of being accepted or not on the campus.”

Listen in to learn more about the new building.

Where to Listen

Schools In Focus is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher. Subscribe today, or listen below!

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Designing the Bridge Between Inclusivity and Independence in K–12 Schools

    Fostering independence is fundamental to learning and development for K–12 students. It offers many proven benefits, such as enhanced confidence, problem-solving, decision-making, and social skills. However, this foundational objective loses its impact if it’s not accessible and adaptable to all students. Inclusivity plays a critical role in cultivating independence and healthy autonomy for students, fostering positive student learning outcomes by uniting pedagogy with the physical learning environment.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Awards, Events & Webinars