NEW ALBANY, IN (Aug. 22, 2011) – The Indiana University Board of Trustees has approved the request for an additional lodge to be built at IU Southeast.

The board voted unanimously to approve the building at the Aug. 19 Board of Trustees meeting in Indianapolis. It will become the sixth lodge on the New Albany campus. 

Five lodges opened at IU Southeast in 2008 and have been a huge success for the campus. On-campus housing has helped the University increase retention rates and has improved the diversity of the student body.

About 400 students can currently live on campus, but the demand for housing has outpaced the beds available. For the past two years on-campus housing has operated with a large waiting list. The new lodge will add 87 new beds for students.

“We are thrilled that the Board of Trustees approved our request for an additional lodge,” said Vice Chancellor for Administrative Affairs Dana Wavle. “We will now have the ability to offer affordable on-campus housing for nearly 90 more students. Our current lodges have proved extremely popular and we expect the same for our newest building.”

The proposed building would likely be located near the Orchard and Grove lodges (adjacent to the IU Southeast Library) and would feature the lodge-style concept already in place on campus. Keeping the same design will reduce costs on architectural fees and ensure that the lodge fits with current housing.

At this point, there are no estimated dates for groundbreaking or completion of the new building.

Move-in day for the 2011-12 academic year at IU Southeast is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25. Nearly 400 students will move into the five current lodges with about 70 students on the waiting list.