McNeese Hosted a Groundbreaking for Student Union

McNeese State University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the new McNeese Student Union. 

“This is a big day for McNeese. We are ready to get started on this long-awaited project for the university,” said Kevin Martin, director of facilities at McNeese.  

The day was so big that rain could not keep people from gathering in the parking garage to talk about the new Student Union and hold up the golden shovels.  

McNeese president, Dr. Wade Rousse, started of the ceremony by explaining that students are the reason for the new union.  

“The students took the leadership and taxed themselves for a student union they will not use,” Dr. Rousse said. “They wanted to make sure that we have a student union for the future generations to come and I could not be more proud of that student body.” 

The students who agreed to the additional fee will not be the students to use the new building which will open in early 2026. Former Student Government Association (SGA) president, Sam Gil, says he met with the architects to make sure the students got what they needed in the building. As a new graduate, he will watch the next generation of students sit in the new SGA offices.  

“When we think about all of the reconstruction that’s going on around campus, this one is the backbone of reigniting student engagement on our campus,” Rousse said. 

According to Dr. Daryl Burckel, former president of McNeese, university administrators knew a new student union was needed 15 years ago. When he became president in 2017, he moved this idea to the forefront. Plans to build a new student union have been in the works since 2019.  

Then the hurricanes of 2020 came and badly damaged not only Memorial Gym, but also Farrar Hall. Where original plans included only removing Memorial Gym to make space for the student union, new plans included removing Farrar Hall, too.  

“I remember being a student here in 1977, the first year after the New Ranch was built, and what that meant for the institution and the student body,” Burckel said. “So, we keep progressing little by little, from one leadership team to the next, from one student body to the next, with a clear vision of making sure it’s all about our students and the experience they have here as they get a high-quality education.” 

The new SGA president, Drew Brown, was elected by the students during the spring semester. 

“For us, the building is a symbol of unity and progress. We hope it will be a place where students of all disciplines can come together to share ideas and forge lifelong relationships,” said Brown. “We want it is a hub of activity where academic, social and cultural life can be celebrated to enhance the student experience.” 

The site was cleared during the spring and construction will begin soon. The architects are AQ Studios and the builder is LEMOINE