{"id":2780,"date":"2026-09-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/?p=2780"},"modified":"2026-09-13T19:02:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T02:02:50","slug":"bulldogs-back-to-campus-major-changes-come-to-the-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/14\/bulldogs-back-to-campus-major-changes-come-to-the-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Construction, Dining Overhaul and LA Campus Expansion Mark Major Changes for Redlands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A view of the Memorial Chapel and Quad on a clear day. Photo by Jackson DeCanio, \u201829<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Welcome back, Bulldogs! Over the summer, the campus stayed busy with updates and renovations. Below is a roundup of everything readers need to know as the year kicks off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Starting with a program that returning students may have already heard about: Bulldog Beginnings<\/strong>. With the incoming class being 900 undergraduate students strong according to the Office of Admissions, Bulldog Beginnings aims to help new and transfer students connect with local employers and events. This program is similar to the Summer Bridge and Bulldog Trek, but expands to the wider campus community with various offerings listed on this webpage<\/a>. In addition, the Student Engagement Portal<\/a> is available for students to view active organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students may also notice that the Memorial Chapel and Duke Hall are under construction<\/strong> and have limited entry. Part of the roof of Memorial Chapel collapsed over the summer \u2014 thankfully after hours. It will remain closed as crews assess and repair the damage. Duke Hall is surrounded by scaffolding as water leakage issues are being fixed, but the building is still accessible through the main entrance. University President Krista Newkirk said in a Sept. 4 email that the work on Duke Hall is expected to be completed by the first week of October. Other ongoing projects include renovations to the Ken and Lynn Welcome Center (formerly the Willis Center) and the Student Success Center, as well as a new Commuter Lounge.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Memorial Chapel and Duke Hall might be under repair, a major upgrade is now complete on the other side of campus: the East Lot has become a solar lot<\/strong> where students can now find a bit of extra shade in the Southern California heat. Meanwhile in Downtown Redlands, the Metrolink Arrow line is offering free rides for participating students<\/strong>. Simply give a call to Student Life at (909) 748-8299 or send an email to campus_life@redlands.edu<\/a> for more information. Train schedules can be found at the station, via the Metrolink website, or via the Metrolink app. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over in Burbank, the newest Redlands campus, <\/a>Woodbury University, is now University of Redlands: Los Angeles (URLA)<\/strong>. While both campuses retain much of their own separate management, the past year has seen URLA\u2019s integration into the wider Redlands community, with URLA counselors appearing at incoming student events and Redlands brochures in the URLA admission office. Primarily a fine arts and design school with a long history tied to the Burbank area, URLA\u2019s schools of architecture, fashion, business, and filmmaking have a hands-on approach that complement the academic focuses offered at the main Redlands campus. Some especially noteworthy features of the URLA campus include their 3D-printed eco-friendly house, the annual summer Woodstock music festival, the many work areas and studios for students to create their projects across the campus and the connections to prominent Hollywood productions both past and current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a major overhaul to the dining services. Chartwells is the new organization in charge of all on-campus dining, known as \u201cBulldog Eats.\u201d<\/strong> In a campuswide email, President Newkirk said the change comes with expanded hours, new dining options, personalized support for dietary needs and more. The Launch is now the 1907 Grill, and GrubHub has been replaced by Boost. No changes to meal plan pricing will occur for the current academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A sign in the Irvine Commons for the new post-meal surveys. Student feedback is encouraged by Chartwells\u2019 general manager, Tyson Torres, and questions and concerns are welcomed as well. Photo by Kae Yeoh \u201826, M.M. \u201828<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chartwells is also partnering with Student Affairs and student leaders to revitalize the Library Cafe<\/strong>. Members of the campus community will also have more ways to reach Chartwells about the dining experience in both traditional survey format and in quick-exit rating. The facilities overall are also receiving a thorough cleaning, and Student Affairs will be putting together a student advisory group, according to an Aug. 8 email sent by President Krista Newkirk to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have some University of Redlands extracurricular achievements from the summer<\/strong>. The Women\u2019s Softball team won the NCAA Division III National Championship back in May, under the direction of Coach Jose Ortega. In addition, the University of Redlands won the Secretary of State\u2019s 2026 Engage the Vote Championship, with the highest percentage of students registered to vote across the state of California. Men\u2019s volleyball is also a new sport added, with their first official season beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back, Bulldogs! Over the summer, the campus stayed busy with updates and renovations. Below is a roundup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[96,312,82,283,55],"class_list":["post-2780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-dining","tag-division-iii-sports","tag-metrolink","tag-solar-power","tag-student-life"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2780"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2789,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2780\/revisions\/2789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theredlandsbulldog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}