A Day of 18 Adventures in New York City, But You Can Only Pick One

Any trip to New York City is an adventure, but there is only one #ACUI25 Adventure, and it departs from ACUI’s conference hotel on Tuesday, March 18. The tough part is picking which one—and only one—of the 18 different tours being offered during this year’s Annual Conference.

The daylong event includes visits to 12 unique campuses that range from a private Jesuit university approaching its 200^th birthday (Fordham University) to an Ivy League school with a nearly $15 billion endowment (Columbia University). There’s a private, all-women’s school affiliated with Columbia (Barnard); a private, formerly all-women’s school known for its activism (Sarah Lawrence); and what architects have described as one of 10 most architecturally significant campuses in the United States (Pratt Institute).

Then there are also the campuses with an attraction that many ACUI conferencegoers will not be able to resist: unique, cutting edge, freshly designed, or well-regarded student centers. Pratt Institute’s student center is a perfect example: It lives as the reincarnation of a 140-year-old gymnasium that had a swimming pool and elevated running track but saw an interior and some exterior renovation in 2018.

At Rutgers University–New Brunswick, there are stops at two student centers, the College Avenue Student Center, where a brand new 4,000-square-foot Basic Needs Center just opened, and the Busch Student Center, which is ground zero for collegiate esports in the state with its competitive teams and host site for the New Jersey High School esports state championships.

Another unique food concept that aims to help meet basic student needs will be on the tour at Rutgers University–Newark. The JBJ Soul Kitchen (JBJ = Jon Bon Jovi) located in Paul Robeson Campus Center is one of four JBJ Soul Kitchens in New Jersey that provide a “pay it forward” dining experience. When customers pay, part of that cost goes toward providing a meal to someone who cannot afford one. In this case, it’s students on the Newark campus. A campus food pantry, pantryRUN, is also connected to the restaurant.

With a renovation completed less than two years ago, Seton Hall University’s Bishop Dougherty University Center received a completely new west-facing façade, new interior common areas and outdoor dining, plus a focus on sustainability that included high-performance systems, insulated glazing and curtain wall, LED lighting with daylight controls, as well as low VOC and recycled content finishes. The center includes a theatre in the round and offers dining services for up to 10,000 students each day.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology tour will not only include a visit to a student center that is yet to celebrate its 20^th birthday, but also a $102 million, 220,000-square-foot wellness and events center that opened in 2017. The student center is part of an interconnected campus area where it, an academic center, and a campus green and pedestrian street are connected by pedestrian bridges. The wellness and events center has a 50-foot-high all-glass northern façade and offers indoor swimming, an 11,000-square-foot indoor turf area, and a 6,000-square-foot fitness center.

All attendees can sign up for an ACUI Adventure experience being offered during the ACUI Adventure on Tuesday afternoon. Please note that 1–6 p.m. has been held in the conference schedule for the ACUI Adventure, but each specific experience will have slightly different itineraries. These specific details will be confirmed with registrants closer to the event. If an Adventure of interest is full, please select from one of the other alternatives as there will not be waitlists, although limited exchanges will be able to be accommodated onsite.