Lakeview Hall’s opening emphasizes power of collaboration

Since opening at the start of the semester, Lakeview Hall’s welcoming environment has sparked some pleasant surprises.

While walking past the first-year student residence hall, Ron Thompson said he saw a sight he hasn’t caught in years. Around a long table in a common area, students were playing Uno.

Ron Thompson, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Housing and Residence Life, speaks during the Lakeview Hall Grand Opening during 2024 Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, October 19.

“I don’t know the last time I saw anyone playing Uno out in public,” Thompson, the associate dean of Students and director of Housing and Residence Life, said with a laugh. “At night I’ll see lounge lights on, and students sitting at chairs with built-in desks, hard at work.”

Learning doesn’t happen only in a classroom, said Furman President Elizabeth Davis at Saturday’s grand opening of Lakeview Hall, during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend.

“It happens in shared spaces, late-night conversations and meaningful interactions,” she told a crowd. “With modern amenities and thoughtful design, this hall is built to foster those connections and enrich the student experience.”

Lakeview Hall, which houses 193 students with room for 210, is the new, $27.6 million S-shaped building overlooking Furman Lake from atop a hill in the South Housing First-Year Student Village. Renovations to SoHo began in 2022, with Lakeview Hall’s design setting the tone for the four other buildings to be renovated. Renovations to Poteat and McGlothlin Halls are expected to be completed by December, with work on Manly and Greer Halls starting January 2025, and the demolition of Blackwell Hall in May 2025.

“The first-floor lobby welcomes students as they enter the building, sends them off as they exit and connects the building’s elevator and monumental stair – an open staircase applying the ‘see-and-be-seen’ philosophy that guided the project,” Thompson said.

An array of indoor and outdoor spaces encourages the development and strengthening of relationships and community among students. Thompson said this approach to designing the living spaces emerges from the collaboration of the design and construction partners, including staff from Mackey Mitchel Architects, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, Harper Construction and Furman colleagues.

Candance Reilley ’26 gives a tour of Lakeview Hall to Furman alumni. at the Lakeview Hall Grand Opening 2024 Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, October 19.

“It could not have been more consistent with the Furman spirit. It was friendly, collaborative, it was almost poetic,” Thompson said. “It’s that spirit that built the building, and I hope it affects our students, too.”

Lakeview Hall is also home to the Center for Interpersonal Connections, which serves to offer intentional engagement with globally diverse populations to promote thriving communities. Housing the center in a first-year residence hall reflects Furman’s commitment to supporting students from their first moments on campus, said Franklin Ellis, associate dean and director of the CIC. The center’s staff serve to support students and foster meaningful relationships, working with the building’s design to nurture a sense of community.

“As students join us from across the globe, together we create a stronger, more connected campus where every student can truly feel and know that they belong – not just academically, but as part of an interconnected community,” Ellis said.