Burns Hall underwent a series of renovations over the summer of 2025. These renovations include personal air conditioning units in every room and the beginnings of Jack and Jill style quad dorms within the dorm.

President Douglas G. Lee of Waynesburg University explains the changes made over the summer.

“We did air conditioning and we’re also trying out this concept of converting some of those rooms into quads where you’ll have a center area for the bathroom, and the two side rooms will be the wings,” Lee said. “The two dorm rooms will be connected by that common restroom area, giving students the flexibility of how they’d like to live.”

Michaelena Hammond, the resident director of Burns Hall, reflected on the effects of the new construction on the residents.

“I think it was really beneficial during move-in for the girls to have AC, and the units are up on the walls, so they still have their floor space and all of that,” Hammond said. “I think it boosted morale and it’s just like an overall great upgrade for them.”

For student driven changes to campus, like the dining hall, the university monitors channels of student feedback to determine what needs to be changed.

“When we went about changing the idea of the dining hall, we surveyed the students for several years and engaged in focus groups and discussions,” Lee said. “It happened that way with Burns as well, knowing air conditioning is something that a lot of students would like to have and appreciate. Secondarily, how do we also change the convenience of the bathroom facilities? What does that look like?”

Hammond explained the effects of these surveys throughout her time at Waynesburg.

“We didn’t have the triples for freshmen and some of the upperclassmen a couple of years ago, so I think that has been a good way for them to meet more people a little sooner,” Hammond said. “I think just keeping stuff modern and just being willing. We have such gracious donors that are wanting to upgrade Waynesburg, like facilities, and that kind of stuff is a huge morale booster for everyone.”

When it became clear that students desired changes in their bathroom facilities with the rise of suite style housing, the university considered which of the dorms would be the best to experiment with.

“It’s easier to adapt in Burns than some of the other dorms because of the construction and the opportunity to run additional pipes through the ceiling.” Lee said. “Burns obviously has a drop ceiling. I believe it’s a lot easier than some of the other older dorms that we have, so it made a lot of sense, based upon the type of construction and size of it, to try it there first.”

As Waynesburg continues to improve and modernize, they have their sights set on some of the other dorms.

“Martin is something that we want to look at, but we’re trying to figure out how to address it because it is larger and a little more complicated.” Lee said. “But we’re talking about thoughts of building another dorm where Ray Hall is, demolishing Ray and putting up a multi-story residence hall there, which would be brand new for students. So, we’re definitely moving ahead with that plan. Construction isn’t happening next week. It’s going to take several years to get to that point, but it is already in the planning stages, and we’re excited about that.”