Major mall-nipulation

As the wind blew and dignitaries spoke, the crowd's attention was not on models or artist's renditions, but an elderly woman sitting under a magnolia tree.

This is Margaret McDermott, wife of the late Eugene McDermott, who - along with Erik Jonsson and Cecil Green - founded Texas Instruments and UTD. On Nov. 20, her dream took hold as UTD broke ground on the latest of many construction projects. Rather than building new classrooms, offices, laboratories or studios, this project would change the fundamental look of the UTD campus.

"It's not a goal, but it's the continuing of a dream," she said.

The fulfillment of this dream will include some disruptions, said Vice President for Business Affairs Calvin Jamison.

Pedestrian traffic between the Student Union (SU) and McDermott Library will be reduced to little or nothing for some time during the beginning of the year, and Business Affairs will attempt to notify the community of closures and provide alternate routes, Jamison said.

Although new trees and other small improvements have been made to the campus over the past several months, this event marked the beginning of actual construction on a large scale. Crews will be rebuilding the entire mall area from the south end near Drive A to the north near Jonsson Center and Green Hall, Jamison said.

Drive A, the main street that runs east to west through the center of campus, will be closed from Lot K between the SU and the Engineering and Computer Science building to Lot F between the Bookstore and School of Management beginning around Jan. 1, Jamison said.

Traffic will be redirected along Drive G behind the Bookstore and Armstrong Drive to the east and Lot J near the Activity Center to the west, he said.

Rutford Avenue, which runs north to south through the center of campus, will have limited access from Drive D near the Arts and Technology building and Energy Plant to Drive A. Only buses, vehicles with handicap permits, service vehicles, drop-offs wand pick-ups will be permitted on Rutford.

Jamison said the goal is to leave visitors to campus feeling better when they leave than they did upon arriving.

In all, approximately 800,000 square feet of space will be renovated as part of a project budgeted at about $30 million, Jamison said.

McDermott donated a large portion of the money for the project to UTD, in an attempt to find something significant to contribute to the school, Wildenthal said.

As designed by landscape architecture firm Peter Walker and Partners, who previously worked on the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and the World Trade Center Memorial in New York, the mall area will eventually have a long serious of pools and other features, including fountains at opposite ends, said UTD President David Daniel.

The project also includes a "reforestation" of University Parkway and many other trees along the mall, said economics senior and UT System Student Regent Ben Dower.

"Imagine yourself reading a book, listening to the water gurgle right next to you, making new friendships and figuring out what you're going to do with your life after your college degree," Daniel said.

Richardson City Manager Bill Keffler spoke about renewed ties between the university and the city, what he called a "town and gown relationship." He said he hopes that people from Richardson will eventually come to UTD to take family photographs. He said he also hopes to build a DART rail station as soon as 2013 on campus that would better connect it to the rest of the region, he said.

Biology senior Jessie Harpham also spoke on behalf of the students about the need for campus beautification.

"I love campus just as it is, mainly because of all the memories that it holds for me, but I also look forward to returning as an alumna to see what this project has added for students to come," she said. "Let's face it. First impressions really do matter."