Finalization of renovation plans for the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture has been postponed from its originally planned deadline of this summer.
Officials said the center's expansion has been delayed by prospective construction projects in several other offices, including the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life and the Division of Student Activities main office.
"We're not a singular unit," said Leon Dunkley, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center. "We are dependent on other campus renovations."
In the past, the University has said that plans for the center would be completed by fall 2002. The plans either will entail an expansion of the current space in the basement of the West Union Building or a relocation to another, refurbished location, possibly in the Bryan Center. Construction will eventually take place over a summer, Dunkley said, although he declined to give a new target date.
The Mary Lou Williams Center renovation is part of a larger project of assessing whether current space allocation fulfills the needs of the staff and students of various campus life offices and centers, said Zoila Airall, assistant vice president for student affairs and campus life.
"[The renovation] is definitely something that is on the books and is something that is being looked at," she said.
Students on the Cultural Space Committee, which is helping to oversee the renovation plans, are hoping for more concrete plans. Senior Polentzi Narvarte, a committee member, said they have not received any updates or official communication from the administration since fall 2001.
"I am still waiting for the administration to update us on its promises and the timeline for its promises because they should have broken ground already, and for some reasons they haven't," Narvarte said. "On the whole I'm grateful for the multicultural center, but I want to see [all the renovation plans] come to fruition."
Senior Troy Clair, another committee member said he was also hoping for more finalized plans.
"Things have definitely been moving more slowly than I would have like to have been moving," he said. "I would like to see some finalized plans by the time I graduate so we can see some commitment."
Over the past three years, minor renovations have taken place, including a new wooden kitchen floor and changes to the back meeting hall. Due to increased programs and events, however, the center now needs additional expansions on a larger scale, Dunkley said.
"We have started to outgrow our capacity. We're just bursting at the seams," he said.
The renovations will allow for an expansion of the library, which currently holds 600 volumes, as well as more gallery display options for musical instruments and artwork. The meeting hall and gallery will be expanded and office space added. Officials are also planning a Duke-Durham outreach program.
Clair said he hopes the renovations will also increase the center's visibility and accessibility.
"The idea is that one of the places to stay is in the West Union, but [the center] has to have a first floor presence. That's very important to achieve the first goal [of visibility]," he said. "[The renovations] are supposed to add cultural space and also other facilities needed on campus more broadly." He added that this could include dance rehearsal space.
Renovation plans took a significant step forward two years ago through a proposal for a free-standing Mary Lou Williams Center, written by Clair, Denis Antoine, Trinity '01, and Bunia Parker, Trinity '02. This developed into a proposal given to the Cultural Space Committee, which issued a final report in May 2001. The plan also drew ideas from a former proposal for increased space for minority groups by Spectrum Organization.
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