Gephardt Institute to move to DUC, new media suite planned

| Senior News Editor

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service will be moving to the Danforth University Center later this year, taking over the third floor space currently used as a student print media suite.

Construction for the Institute’s new office is scheduled to begin this spring, so that it can move into the new space between commencement and June 1, Director of the DUC Leslie Heusted says.

Remaining space on the floor will be converted into a new media suite to include offices for print publications Washington University Political Review, Hatchet Yearbook, One World magazine and Spires literary magazine. The expanded space will also include the DUC recording studio and WUTV. It is also possible that KWUR will move there as well.

The Gephardt Center is currently located in Eliot Hall and will move before Eliot is demolished.

“That portion of the construction will be happening over the spring once we have confirmed plans because of that timeline—because of Eliot,” Heusted said.

Jill Carnaghi, assistant vice chancellor for students, noted that the DUC seemed like a logical place to move the Gephardt Institute.

“They work with a big number of students, so the University center seemed like an ideal location with the Community Service Office located here and parking underneath,” she said.

Heusted says the institute will be a positive addition to the DUC.

“I am really excited about the Gephardt Center moving into the building and onto the third floor. It is a focal point for the community; it’s a connection between Washington University and the community,” she said.

“We’ve been in this building for three years now; we are looking to enhance student media spaces,” Carnahgi said.

Heusted said that the new space will allow student media groups to work more closely with one another.

“This has allowed us to take a second look at how the media groups interact and there is endless potential for collaboration for the media groups, and this helped us tap into some of that potential,” she said.

Carnaghi said it is likely that KWUR will eventually move from its space in the Ann W. Olin Women’s Building into a space in the DUC. Students involved in KWUR are currently discussing the possibility of moving to the DUC with University administrators.

Huested noted that the renovation will also add more common space to the third floor, which few students view as a hangout.

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