Tucked away on the urban campus of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, a century-old tradition of educational excellence is intersecting with the promise of the future.
Rising in the shadows of nearby Our Lady of the Lake Hospital, St. Francis Hall is becoming the centerpoint of the sprawling campus located just off of bustling Essen Lane in Baton Rouge.
Students are sporting smiles as they walk past the building that houses classrooms that will stretch their educational limits, faculty members are seen with a pep in their step, all while FranU President Dr. Tina Holland, the driving force behind the structure, takes it in with a blending of pride and excitement.
“It’s a challenge but it’s exciting for the staff, faculty, students and community,” Holland said of the 75,000 square foot building. “The students are excited; you can see it in their faces.”
“We are taking a significant step in the future of the university,” she added.
The building is designed to meet the academic and student development needs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Included in St. Francis Hall, which will feature a mammoth San Damiano cross near the entrance, are a library, social space, study space, a grab-and-go lunch area, administrative offices, chapel, green space and much to the delight of all a designated parking area.
“There’s no other place in the state
that has this kind of technology,”Angelia Bercegea
Perhaps most important is 19,000 square feet of simulation space, nearly four times the current 5,000 square feet. Overall, the building might best be prescribed as “mini hospital floors,” with two floors designated for intake and intake, according to Angelia Bercegea, vice president of finance and operations for FranU. A home health care area is also being constructed.
“There’s no other place in the state that has this kind of technology,” Bercegea said.
Simulated mannequins will allow students to work hands-on in their respective disciplines. The technically advanced mannequins will be able to simulate human reactions in various procedures so the students will learn how to address those symptoms in real time.
“Before we went too far (during construction) we decided to change over to medical gasses so we could have full automation on our simulated mannequins,” Bercegea said. “We chose to outfit (the simulated operating room) with three medical gasses used during anesthesia.
“So we have mannequins that can sense the difference in the gasses and give (students) full blown simulation for their special services.”
Holland said one aspect that makes the educational experience unique is that it is interdisciplinary. She said the simulations offer scenarios that will require students from a variety of clinical programs collaborating together and offering a preview of the clinical areas work together.
“Everything is hands on and that is central to our education,” Holland said. “You have to see and feel what to do, have a practical application to what you are learning in the classroom regardless of (your major).”
Holland said the students and the faculty have deserved the state-of-the-art building for quite some time, although perhaps it took a bit longer than she has originally hoped.
“God has his timing, and I am so grateful that it is happening now,” she said.
The building’s signature is likely to be the San Damiano cross, which will welcome visitors as they enter. The cross is 16.5 feet tall and measures eight feet wide. It, along with the altar, ambo, tabernacle and additional furnishings for the chapel are all currently being handmade in Germany.
“We thought what it would take to give every student a reason to be in this building,” Holland said, crediting former FranU board member Dale Songy as being an advocate for developing legitimate student space.
St. Francis Hall is just the first step in a master plan that calls for comprehensive renovations on some existing buildings and additional capital development. Holland said the ultimate goal is a reduced footprint, with a campus consisting of up to five buildings rather than the current 12 scattered over numerous city blocks, thereby allowing operational costs to be dramatically reduced.
Holland said the smaller footprint will also help develop a sense of community in order to facilitate the interdisciplinary nature of the university, rejecting what has become a national tendency among institutes of higher learning to add additional buildings at the expense of creating silos.
“You really want to have as close a community physically as you can that then matches the close community you have socially and professionally,” she said.
During her eight-year tenure, Holland has substantially raised the profile of what was once perceived as a nursing school to a Catholic institution that offers numerous academic paths, including a degree in theology and post-graduate programs. But she admits work remains.
“(The perception of FranU) has changed tremendously but not enough,” she admitted. “I want to use this momentum for the university to best advance its mission.”
“We really pride ourselves on meeting the needs of the community that are assigned with our mission and finding a way to afford to do it whenever we can,” she said.
St. Francis Hall is tentatively scheduled to be substantially complete by early January, which represents only a slight delay from the original Christmas Day completion. The building will be blessed at that point. The administrative staff is scheduled to begin moving in by late winter or early spring.
Summer classes are scheduled to be held at St. Francis Hall with the dedication of the building scheduled in early fall of 2023, which will also mark the kick off of the centennial celebration of the Franciscan sisters in Baton Rouge.
“(St. Francis Hall) is a cornerstone, the unifying edifice for the rest of the master plan,” Holland said. “Much more than planning, it’s really human development in the tradition of the Catholic Church.”