Columbia Missourian
August 18, 1994

The Brady Commons quad may look like its finished, but there’s a lot left to do 
By Erica Rheinschild
Missourian staff writer

M.U. junior Bridget Parkhurst remembers when the area outside Brady Commons, Art 
and Science and Ellis Library was dirt and gravel.

“They kept on having to put gravel down, and whenever it rained it would get all 
muddy and you’d end up with it all the way to your knees,” Parkhurst said.

Parkhurst probably isn’t the only student to have said this. The area has had a 
lot of foot traffic over the years. Parkhurst said rain and snow made crossing 
difficult, if not a chore, when she tried to get to class.

The idea to pave the area has not been a new one. In fact; plans were drawn 
nearly seven years ago, said Larry Edwards, associate director of campus 
facilities.

“We had students cutting across there and so a plan was started by a group of 
students, staff, and faculty to renovate the area,” Edwards said.

After an open forum that lasted nearly half a day, changes were incorporated 
into the master plan for campus. But the plans were delayed several years by a 
possibility of an expansion of the south side of Ellis Library. Edwards said a 
decision was made this year to renovate when it became apparent the Ellis 
addition was not going to happen soon.

Edwards said a student fee will be used to add lighting within the next six 
months and landscaping and will be done over fall and spring.

M.U. senior Rene Ramirez has already seen some of the changes.

“What they have now is better,” he said. “It’s a lot nicer looking than the 
gravel.”

Photo caption:
The project that turned the quad between Brady Commons, Art and Science and 
Ellis Library into a mound of dirt and orange plastic fencing has finally been 
completed.