Today we unveiled plans for an $8 million renovation that will transform the second-oldest building on campus into the Higgins Hall for Innovation and Human-Centered Design. Facilitated in part by a significant donation from SAU alumnus and trustee Tom Higgins '67, the near-total interior renovation of the 105-year-old building long known as LeClaire Hall will begin in the spring of 2022, with an anticipated re-opening in the fall 2023. Once completed, the building will feature five modern classrooms and more than 20 offices. It initially will house the St. Ambrose School of Social Work, the Institute for Person-Centered Care and the Master of Public Health program. 
The announcement follows by less than a week the inauguration of St. Ambrose President Amy Novak, EdD. The announced plan puts her inaugural themes of inclusivity and innovation into action by imagining new means of reaching and teaching the next generation of learners, and by enlisting the varied and individualized ways ...