An AUD Afternoon

A group of Urban Studies students and Dr. Tom Conroy toured the inside of the Worcester Memorial Auditorium recently.  Traveling both deep and high into the building, they were able to explore many areas not generally seen by people even when the structure was open.

How they got there has everything to do with the department capstone course. 

One of the capstone students, Desiree Cunningham, has been researching the AUD's history and previous plans for its preservation as part of her project.  She is now putting together a preliminary study of the building and working on a proposal of her own.  But during one of the writing workshop days in which students commented on each other's draft papers, Desiree noted that she while she now knows all this information about the AUD, she has never been into the building.  At that point, we began to make some calls about gaining access.

As befits the collaborative dynamic we like to build in the department, the other Public Administration & Planning-oriented students who joined Desiree have been helping her make sense of her research.  Good colleagues all, most of them are simultaneously working on their own capstones, too.  

Thanks to the City of Worcester, City Councilor George Russell (Urban Studies, '81), the Mayor's Office and particularly Michael Lanava for their assistance in setting this up.