Brian Lewis

Ken Stoner, director of student housing, sits on the newly constructed stairway of the newest scholarship hall, Rieger Hall. He holds a refurbished spindle from a banister in old Fraser Hall.

The two wings of the Dennis E. Rieger Scholarship Hall are beginning to take form. A foundation and a rising structure sit in the middle of a muddy lot located on the 1300 block of Ohio Street.

The building, which will house 50 students, will be the sixth women’s scholarship hall on campus. It is scheduled to open next fall.

The student government of the house is being constructed as well.

Becca Evanhoe, All Scholarship Hall Council president, said that 19 women were selected as part of the government for Rieger.

The remaining women who will live at Rieger have not been determined. The Department of Student Housing will select residents of Rieger based upon academic performance, financial need, references and essays.

“I’ve met each of the 19 women and they are a fantastic group,” Evanhoe said. “Every person is dedicated to community living and will be a great addition to the scholarship hall community.”

Jennifer Denny, Plano, Texas, freshman, was selected as one of the women to live at Rieger next fall.

Denny said that she would work with other selected Rieger women to develop a hall constitution this semester.

The constitution will describe the rules and expectations of living at Rieger. Denny said that Rieger residents would spend three to six hours a week keeping the hall clean, making food for the hall and answering phone calls at the front desk.

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” Denny said. “I think it will be a good experience to have diverse girls coming together from different areas and broadening our understanding of the University.”

The Department of Student Housing will incorporate history into the scholarship hall by including fixtures from Old Fraser Hall, said Ken Stoner, director of student housing.

Iron fencing that once lined the perimeter of the widow’s walk on top of Old Fraser will enclose a courtyard. Wooden spindles that were a part of a grand staircase will also be incorporated.

Stoner said that some spindles from Old Fraser were composed of pine and others were composed of walnut.

The spindles in Rieger will have the same pattern that the spindles from Old Fraser had.

“By rotating them with a little different finish, it gives the banister a real elegant look,” Stoner said.

Parking at the hall could be a challenge. A lot was not included in building plans to preserve the look of the house.

Donna Hultine, director of parking, said that a tentative plan is to give Rieger residents the option to purchase Kansas Union garage yellow parking permits.

Hultine said that the parking commission would set aside more than 30 spaces in the Union parking garage.

Hultine said that Union parking garage permits cost $125. The permit includes other yellow parking areas on campus. She said that the parking commission is working on a plan this spring to decide whether the permits will cost $125 or $85, the cost of a regular student Alumni Place parking permit.

KU alumni Roger and Annette Rieger of Seattle donated $3 million to fund the scholarship hall named after the late Dennis Rieger, Roger’s brother.