KU set to begin construction on Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall

A groundbreaking ceremony April 17 will mark the
beginning of construction on a new scholarship hall at 1323 Ohio Street.
The Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall will be named in memory of a KU
alum who died of diabetes at the age of 47. Family members Roger and Annette
Rieger, also KU alumni, pledged $3 million to fund the hall’s construction.
Contributed
KU will pay tribute to a “real Jayhawk” when it breaks ground
on construction of the Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall April 17.
Roger and Annette Rieger, both KU alumni, will join KU Chancellor Robert
Hemenway, KU Endowment Association President Dale Seuferling and KU Student
Housing Director Ken Stoner for a 9:30 a.m. ceremony at the site, 1323
Ohio St. In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved
inside to Margaret Amini Scholarship Hall, 1312 Louisiana.
The Riegers pledged $3 million to KU Endowment for the hall, which is
scheduled to be open in the fall of 2005. It will be named for the late
Dennis E. Rieger, a KU alumnus who died of diabetes at the age of 47.
“He was a real Jayhawk, through and through,” said Roger Rieger.
“I think he would be proud to be associated with a scholarship hall.
This gift was a way for us to leave something here that’s a lasting
memorial to him.”
Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall will house 50 women in a mix of traditional
rooms and suites divided between two wings. The common areas will include
a courtyard, living room, dining area, kitchen and recreational room.
Lawrence-based Treanor Architects designed the structure, incorporating
characteristics consistent with a Queen Anne design that will complement
other homes in the neighborhood.
The design process included input from a university building committee
and a community advisory committee composed of representatives of the
Lawrence Historic Resource Commission, the Lawrence Preservation Alliance,
the Oread Neighborhood Association and the Campus Historic Preservation
Board.
Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall will be the 11th scholarship hall at
KU, which is one of few universities nationwide to have a cooperative
housing system on or near campus. Like all residence halls at KU, they
receive no state support for operation. Scholarship hall residents pay
about $1,400 less per year than students living in residence halls. In
exchange, they agree to about six hours a week of household and cooking
responsibilities.
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