When Andrew Heckman arrived at Hastings College four years ago and got involved in student government, there was a common theme at the end of every meeting when students could air concerns: housing and dining on campus.
That message was also loud and clear from those on the Student Insight Panel, which college President Rich Lloyd chairs to gather feedback from students beyond just general conversations on campus.
“We kind of assumed nothing would change,” Heckman said. “I could have never imagined how incorrect we were, and the scale of the improvements that were about to take place. Students identified a need, brought those concerns forward and Hastings College listened.”
The result? Over the next three years, Hastings College invested more than $50 million in student spaces, including updates to dining, existing housing and construction of a new residence hall on campus.
“Students told us they wanted housing, shared spaces and dining that matched the quality of the Hastings College education and community they experience here,” Lloyd said. “We listened, and then we acted. This is about more than buildings — it is about creating places where students can live well, connect with one another, and know they belong, that their place matters.”
Alongside a two-summer physical renovation of the Hazelrigg Student Union, the college brought in Scott Residential Management to run dining services three years ago. The shift made such a difference that more students are buying meal plans now than before.
The physical transformation turned the union into a place where students want to sit, hang out and share a meal. The cafeteria is brighter and better organized, while the campus coffee shop has space and equipment to offer food, while meeting rooms, restrooms and hang-out spaces were redone and modernized.
All six Bronco Village Apartments, home primarily to juniors and seniors, were remodeled over three years, with new kitchens, modern flooring and updated bathrooms and furnishings. Even traditional first-year halls like Bronc and Babcock received targeted updates to make dorm life feel a little more like home.
Then there is the centerpiece of the investment: The 1882.
The brand-new, four-story residence hall brings 320 beds right to the heart of campus.
With 63 four-bedroom suites, 21 two-bedroom suites and 26 full studio apartments, the building required 22 semitrailer loads of furniture before it opened in August.
But it isn’t just a place to sleep — it has study lounges and meeting rooms, and all campus tours stop in the new space to learn about campus housing options. It also features a workout facility that’s open to all students who live on campus and a bio-retention pond that’s currently home to two resident ducks named Lucy and Ricky.
For students who remember what campus looked like before the construction trucks arrived, the shift is surreal.
“When we got to walk inside The 1882 for the first time after it was completed, it felt like I was walking onto a different campus,” said Heckman, who is now a senior and president of the Student Association. “I didn’t realize how much a building can change the way a campus feels until I experienced it.”
The 1882 and other student-facing upgrades were made possible through support from the Walter Scott Family Foundation and the college’s Board of Trustees and Foundation.
For current Broncos, the difference is measured in better dinners, brighter study spots and modern apartments. But as Heckman noted, the real payout is long term.
“Students who come to Hastings years from now will live here, make friends here and create memories here,” he said. “They may never know what this part of campus looked like before, but they’ll get to experience the impact of this investment. This is one very visible example of people believing in the future of Hastings College.”