The Wichita State campus is being reformed and changes are being made. WSU President John Bardo is knocking down buildings and building newer ones.

After almost a year-long of construction and roadblocks, the new residence hall, Shocker Hall, near Cessna Stadium, will be opening on Aug. 6. Bardo said the dorm is coming along extremely well with a waiting list available to the students wanting rooms. Bardo is confident the dorm will be full, which has him pondering about the possibility of building more dorms

“I’ve toured the residence hall a couple of times and the rooms are lovely — they’re really nice. They are large and have high ceilings. There are different kinds of configurations so the students have options. The dining facility will have four different cooking areas and a coffee shop,” Bardo said.

Beyond the dorms, the administration is making more changes. One big change in particular is parking. In an attempt to increase shuttle services for students the administration has decided to increase parking options.

Bardo said a new parking fee of $120 per year this upcoming school year will be issued in an attempt to manage parking better. Bardo said the fee would allow more flexibility to create better parking facilities.

In January, the administration will tear down the old engineering building and build a better, more advanced, one for students and faculty.

“We’re in the process of positioning Wichita State for the future. That means we need to make sure that are students have access to the best professors, the best facilities and to have the ability to be creative in their work. We are running out of space for expanding engineering. At the same time we need to create better relationships with the engineering businesses in town. So what we are trying to do this first building is to create opportunities for our students to have expanded facilities for laboratories, specifically, and then for engineering businesses,” Bardo said.

This will be the first of a series of new buildings, in which he refers to as Innovation Campus that will be designated for the growth and education for students. Bardo said a vast majority of the WSU campus would continue to evolve, particularly in health care, art, psychology and human performance. He wants to recruit more international students, too.

A new building is still in design for what he calls Innovation Campus 2. Bardo anticipates the construction to begin in January and it to be open by May of 2016.