The University of Louisiana Monroe held the grand opening ceremony for its completely renovated Sandel Hall and Barnes & Noble bookstore on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.
The $17.4 million, 88,000-square-foot building is a “one-stop shop” for students, representing a step forward in the revitalization of ULM’s facilities. The building houses the university bookstore, the office of recruitment and admissions, the university registrar, financial aid, the scholarship office, campus radio station KXUL, an innovation center, and other core administrative departments.
Although primarily an office building, Sandel Hall now also provides several multimedia classrooms and conference rooms with cutting-edge interactive features as well as a state-of-the art biology laboratory.
Opened in 1963, Sandel Hall first served as the university library. It was named after Monroe resident Percy M. Sandel, a judge of the fourth judicial court. Initially built as a two-story building, Sandel Hall received a third floor addition in 1977. The building served as the university library until 1999 when the current library opened. Since the library’s departure from the building, the facility has housed the university’s natural history museum, its herbarium, testing center, bookstore, and the office of recruitment and admissions.
The renovation of Sandel Hall began in 2014. The remodeling was designed by Bill Land of Land 3 Architect, whose family was also very influential in the development of ULM’s campus infrastructure. Land’s father was the original architect on Sandel Hall in 1961, and his grandfather was the original architect on the first building on ULM campus, Brown Hall, built in 1931.
Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, attendees were invited to tour Sandel Hall and the Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Speakers on the agenda included ULM President Dr. Nick J. Bruno, ULM Chief Communications Officer Lisa Miller, ULM Executive Vice President Dr. Stephen Richters, Senator Neil Riser and Bill Land of Land 3 Architects.
