By NATE KING
Salina Post
On Friday, Aug. 23, Kansas Wesleyan University (KWU) celebrated the nearly complete six-month renovation of Shriwise Dining into the new Bieber Dining Hall.
"We expanded into space next to it [Shriwise] so we could enlarge the space," said KWU President Matt Thompson. "We went back to the studs, gutted, started again, took walls out so we could create a whole new floor plan and experience."
The updated dining hall features electric fireplaces and newly installed tabletop seating equipped with charging outlets. According to KWU, the renovation added 2,400 square feet to the dining area.
"Last year, it just felt very dull inside the cafeteria. But now, it's super vibrant. There's a lot of new things there, and I think all the new students really like it," said Pratt, Kans. native Marleigh Bates, a sophomore at KWU majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry and health science.
Bates, who is also on the KWU softball team, said she loves the dining hall's new hours.
"It's really nice to be able to pick up something and go to our practice or to work around conditioning and weights. The hours are nice," Bates said. "It opens at 7:30 a.m. and then late night closes at 10 p.m. So having practice super late, it's nice just to come in here, grab dinner and not have to go buy food somewhere else."
The dining hall’s new action stations, where students can watch their food being prepared, are a significant upgrade from the previous setup.
"It [Shriwise] was very tight and hard to get to; it was very congested, and so we wanted to bring most of the cooking out into the main part of the dining hall so people can see their food being made in front of them," Thompson said.
Senior Ashtun Villagomez, a biomedical chemistry major at KWU, praised the university for preparing the dining center before the fall semester in 2024.
"I know for sure, Dr. Thompson and all the faculty put a lot of hard work, time, and energy into making Bieber Dining Hall," Villagomez said.
Thompson also emphasized KWU's commitment to sustainability and sourcing food products from local farmers and ranchers.
"Our plan over time is to buy more locally sourced food to provide that farm-to-table experience for our students," Thompson said. "If we can go from 10 to 15 to 20% over the next few years, that's our intent. To work with local producers who are chemical-free and regenerative, producing the best healthy food locally for our students and our faculty and staff."
As KWU grows, with over 1,000 students enrolled for the first time, the university plans to continue expanding and improving campus facilities to meet student needs.
"There is more growth and expansion in our future, building on the momentum that we have," Thompson said. "We're seeing more students want to be a part of this community, and we're ready to support them."
The new dining hall is just one example of how KWU is enhancing the student experience, providing a welcoming environment that feels like a "home away from home" for many.
One example of the university's investment in improving the student experience sits just across the street from Bieber Dining Center— Coyote Village. The little community consists of a series of small homes on Highland Avenue that house five students apiece. The homes are two-story structures and contain kitchenettes, laundry and other accommodations.
"For me, coming from a small town to here, it just felt super welcoming, and the community was super nice. I had a really involved community from my hometown, so coming here, I just felt like I was at home," Bates said.
A few renovations and landscaping remain before KWU's renovation project is complete towards the end of the fall semester, said Brad Salois, assistant vice president of marketing and communications at KWU.
The dining hall renovation was made possible by a donation from KWU Class of 1971 graduate, Jeff Bieber.
The $3 million gift helped fund the music renovations to Sam's Chapel and renovations to the dining hall. Bieber is a former chair of KWU's Board of Trustees.
After graduating from KWU, Bieber went to work for John Deere. He was assigned to visit John Deere dealerships in Missouri, eastern Kansas and eastern Nebraska.
The John Deere brand was one familiar to Bieber. His father owned a John Deere dealership in Cheyenne Wells, CO, where he grew up. After Bieber's father announced his retirement, he asked if Jeff would be interested in purchasing the dealership. Jeff said yes.
In the Spring 2022 edition of KWU's Contact Magazine, Bieber said his classwork and extracurricular activities helped prepare him to tackle the challenge of leading a large business.