INDIANAPOLIS – Marian University’s student enrollment has led to major updates around campus, including a new arena.
The university held a groundbreaking for their new $35 million facility Saturday morning, which will include a fitness center, dining hall, learning space and convocation center.
To kick off the groundbreaking, the university’s president, Daniel Elsener, rode in on a bulldozer.
"I thought I would take up some real turf. The students were cheering me on when I suggested it to the student government,” said Elsener. “They said, ‘you won't drive a bulldozer’ and of course, as soon as they said that, I had to drive a bulldozer.
The project will be constructed in three phases and is expected to be completed in December 2017.
Elsener said the facility will help build a community and serve as a place for gathering and exchanging ideas. He calls it the “Marian University family room.”
In fall 2016, university officials announced its current freshman class was their largest in history and increased by 25 percent from the previous fall semester.
