Campus Readies for New Student Center Construction

With the media cameras rolling, balloons blowing in the breeze and students eagerly awaiting the anticipated news, Campus President Arthur Gallagher announced that construction is slated to begin in early 2010 for a new student center, with the opening projected for early 2011.

The building will be approximately 30,000 square feet and built on the residence hall parking lot on Cedar Street, adjacent to the Carolina Panthers practice field. It will include a gymnasium with bleacher seating for 600; a fully-equipped fitness center; aerobic exercise room; activity multipurpose room; offices for clubs and organizations and resource rooms; athletic offices; and varsity and general student locker rooms and showers.

“Our new student center is a clear demonstration of the success of our students in Charlotte, and another example of how our university’s investment and our economic impact on this region will continue to grow in the years to come,” said Gallagher.

The center will serve the entire JWU student body and be home to JWU Wildcats basketball and volleyball teams.

Image: President Art Gallagher announces new construction will begin in 2010.

NASCAR Auto Takes the ‘Cake’
For some baking and pastry students, their first day of class was a jawdropping stunner. Buddy Valastro, star of the TLC reality show “Cake Boss,” strolled in for a tour and impromptu lecture, and then asked students to help create a cake as big as a car — a NASCAR.

“Buddy,” as he is known on the show, was in Charlotte preparing for the Retail Bakers of America exposition, and needed help with one of the largest projects he’s ever taken on. The students had no idea what they were about to get into.

Under the guidance of Chef Frances Burnett, 25 students made 1,200 cakes over two days using 100 50-pound bags of cake mix and 600 dozen eggs. The student volunteers then spent hours with Buddy and the “familia” assembling the mammoth cake at the Charlotte Convention Center, from the tires and racing stripes to the fenders and detailed engine. It wasn’t a piece of cake.

“After very long hours and a major disaster — the front end of the car fell off — the cake came together with everyone’s hard work,” said junior William Aleshire. “We got the job done with laughter, little sleep and thankfully, no tears.”

In Chef Amy Felder’s baking science class, Valastro told students that the success of his bakeshop is about understanding the science and chemistry of baking. The fourth-generation baker spoke of the challenges of converting and adapting some of his father’s own recipes.

“His enthusiasm for the subject matter was contagious,” Felder said. The mishaps and marvels of car creation were taped for a “Cake Boss” episode that aired in January. Bada bing!

Image: Buddy Valastro of Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., and his team of students flank their finished masterpiece.