LSU will host the National Association of College and University Residence Halls annual conference next summer, the university announced.
More than 2,200 students from as many as 300 schools across the country and Canada are expected to come to the conference, which includes leadership workshops for students living on campus.
This will be the first time in the event’s 64-year history that it will be held in Baton Rouge, said Alex Dresen, assistant director of residential life and education for student success and leadership at LSU.
To win the bid, student leaders with LSU’s Resident Hall Association—LSU’s second-largest campus organization—had to craft a $500,000 budget and plan a conference for up to 2,500 attendees. The conference is fully paid by sponsorships and attendance fees, and no money will be spent by LSU, says Dresen.
The university has increased its focus on on-campus living for students, requiring freshmen to live on campus starting this fall and adding 1,500 beds with its new Nicholson Gateway. The school is also set to demolish five older dormitories next year, replacing 2,000 beds with new residences near the University Recreation Center.
