What’s new at LU: 2023-24 school year brings upgrades to student services

From facility improvements to expanded recreational offerings, students starting the 2023-24 academic year this week are seeing a number of additions and changes on campus.

Among the largest upgrades is the long-awaited Reber-Thomas Dining Center. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held earlier this month for the new, 120,000-square-foot facility that boasts a seating capacity of more than 3,000 (outdoor and indoor seating) and 27 different stations with a variety of food options. Sodexo, the university’s dining services provider, will host a grand opening celebration for students on Wednesday.

Also fully open to students is the new Liberty Multipurpose Center, which was completed at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. Other construction upgrades include two new high-speed elevators at the South Tower residence hall.

Campus Recreation has announced that it will now offer pickleball as an intramural sport in the wake of the sport’s growing popularity and increased interest from the student population. The addition should bolster the already successful intramural program, which accommodates over 4,000 Liberty students each semester. The university plans to build a six-court outdoor facility for pickleball next spring at the Liberty Mountain Intramural Complex. Students working out at the LaHaye Recreation & Fitness Center this semester will see colored lighting in the Dance and Cycle Studios and new turf in the Training Loft for agility and plyometric type exercises.

Improvements have also been made to many student services. Five new transit buses have replaced older buses currently operating on Routes 71 and 72, and Liberty has installed a few new bus shelters around campus. The Student Mail Center has changed locations from the bottom of Commons III to the back of the former dining hall.

There’s an app for that: the Liberty community now has access to two new recently launched mobile apps. Champion Safe is the primary safety app of Liberty and includes multiple features, including crisis alerts, mobile blue light, in-app tip reporting, location service features, emergency plans and contacts, and emergency notifications and timely warnings. As Liberty Athletics gears up for its first year in Conference USA, fans can use the new Liberty Flames app for real-time Flames news alerts, full Liberty Athletics schedules, tickets, game day details, shop for official Flames merchandise, and more. Both apps are available on the App Store and Google Play.

Liberty’s Students Activities Department has added several new campus events in addition to the staple activities that students have come to love and expect each semester. Fans of rock music should enjoy the first Classic Rock Concert on top of the Runk and Pratt Garage on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m., where students can showcase their musical talents and perform live for their peers. Two weeks later, students are invited to Le-Monet (a play on painter Claude Monet and the summer favorite, lemonade) on the Academic Lawn at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 to enjoy watercolor painting and fruit-infused lemonade.

For a full list of upcoming Student Activities events, view the Fall 2023 calendar.