There’s something slightly justified about the name of UMR’s new student and campus center, named after Gary Havener, the 1962 UMR mathematics graduate whose $5 million gift to UMR helped make the student haven a reality.

Nearly twice the size of the former, two-building University Center complex, the 105,000-square-foot building attracted nearly 190,000 patrons and played host to 1,930 events in its first semester of operation, surpassing an entire year of activity in the old complex. Although many students left campus for the summer, the Havener Center continued to shine, drawing in an additional 60,000 people.

“The Havener Center is the center of campus community, the place where people can come and meet friends, study, relax, eat, or go to the bookstore,” says Mark Potrafka, director of student life at UMR. “It’s a place that hasn’t existed on campus before.”

First Floor

UMR Bookstore
At roughly 7,000 square feet, UMR’s official campus bookstore is 30 percent larger than the previous store, allowing more offerings for the campus and community. The store provides students with textbooks, UMR clothing, gifts, and materials for graduation. The bookstore also offers students educationally priced computers and software.

Bonus: A portion of the bookstore’s profits go directly to UMR programs on campus.

Cup o’ Joe Coffee Shop and Weiner Lounge
On a busy campus, students need a place to hang out in an inviting atmosphere and take a break between classes. Across from the UMR Bookstore, the Ritazza coffee shop and Weiner lounge (named for the late Maxwell Weiner, EE’41) provide a place to study and meet friends. The nearby game room offers pool, table tennis and foosball, as well as a large-screen television for casual viewing.

Bonus: More than just coffee, the full-service shop offers gourmet pastries and desserts.

Food Court and Hsia/Chao Dining Lounge
As the university’s most centrally located dining facility, the student center’s ground-level Hsia/Chao Dining Lounge (named for donors David, Chem’72, and Phylis Hsia and Richard, MetE’71, and June Chao) brings people together for meals, conversation and collaboration. Contemporary services – from an Italian pasta toss station to a rotisserie with meal options that change daily – and flexible seating options – from high tables indoors to patio tables outdoors – encourage social interaction.

Bonus: The food court can handle more than 1,000 customers daily and can change offerings with little down time.

Second Floor

Meeting Spaces
Features like a portable stage and dance floor, wireless Internet access, and contemporary d´ecor make the Havener Center the preferred destination for meetings, conferences, banquets and wedding receptions. The meeting rooms – many of them surrounding the Ted, EE’67, and Sharon Weise Atrium – are highly flexible, allowing for up to 14 meeting rooms with movable walls for workshops, breakout space and small trade shows for groups as small as 10 and as large as 500.

Bonus: The St. Pat’s Ballroom is the largest banquet facility in the Rolla area with more than 7,000 square feet of floor space.

Student Organization Offices
With its central location, the Havener Center provides an ideal setting for dedicated workspace for nearly 20 student organizations. Located on the second floor, the suite boasts informal and formal meeting spaces and an attractive environment, which encourages collaboration and heightens the groups’ awareness of each other. Flexibility in design allows student leaders to reconfigure the space to meet their needs.

Bonus: The centralized location gives students ready access to affiliated faculty and support staff.