New Space Announced for Mary Lou Williams and LGBT Centers

The West Union renovation is shaking up campus, especially for those entities housed in this signature building. The good news for two primary residents, the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture and the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life, is both groups have new homes to occupy during renovation approximately a year from now.

According to Zoila Airall, assistant vice president of student affairs for campus life, the Mary Lou Williams Center will move to 102 Flowers and the adjacent downstairs space in 04 Flowers. This space, currently occupied by the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, will be renovated to create open spaces similar to the original design for this space.

"The Flowers Building has some unique attributes that we believe are important to acknowledging the historic contributions of Black people to this institution including the fact that it is a building that it was designed by architect Julian Abele," said Chandra Guinn, director of the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture.  

"This building is located between the two seats of power on this campus, Duke Chapel and the Allen Building and will be situated between the renovated West Union Building and Page Auditorium. We look forward to the opportunity to work with a designer (with experience working with Black cultural centers) to ensure that the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture will have interior integrity and be reflective of a Black aesthetic to the extent possible."

The LGBT Center will move to spaces on the main floor of the Bryan Center, taking over a portion of space now occupied by University Center Activities and Events (UCAE, formerly OSAF). Renovations will take place here as well to make the space functional, prominent and inviting for students.

"The increased visibility of the new location will be good for the center," said Janie Long, director of the Center for LGBT Life. "Feedback from constituency groups who worked on the relocation requirements indicated that the community did not want the center to remain 'in the closet, underground or hidden'.  The long-term outlook for the center will require more space, which is not currently available to us in our West Union location but will be in the Bryan Center."

"Obviously, we have much work to be done over the next year or so both in the design of the centers themselves and with the alternate spaces to house UCAE and OVP offices," said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs. "We are all excited by the prospect of the new centers as well as of our new administrative homes. We'll share more details as we know them."

For more information on the renovation projects as they progress, follow sites.duke.edu/westunion.