Summer Campus Renovations Beautify, Bolster Safety and Learning

LMU Loyola Law School has never looked – or worked – better. This summer's campus-wide renovations upgraded classroom technology and safety systems while simultaneously refreshing offices, building exteriors, and the campus garden, creating a learning environment that is both more engaging and more secure.

The Charles S. Casassa Building saw a range of infrastructure renovations to improve the overall educational experience. Environmental air quality specialists upgraded HVAC and other mechanical systems, improving building air conditions while moving to environmentally safe refrigerants and enhancing overall safety. At the same time, LLS Instructional Technology experts added new state-of-the-art projectors, screens, lecterns, microphones, and cameras to four classrooms.

Several projects improve sustainability across campus, including an improved Graphics print center, smarter irrigation controls, energy‑efficient lighting, and expanded recycling infrastructure. Nearly all campus facilities underwent detailed cleaning to ensure the highest standards and best presentation to students, faculty, and staff.

New fixed exterior signage replaces a variety of old, inconsistent logos on the exteriors of the Fritz B. Burns Academic Center, Charles S. Casassa Building, Dordick Family Trial Advocacy Center, parking structure, William Rains Library, and Founders Hall. Originally scheduled to coincide with LMU’s new identity rollout several years ago, the project experienced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent supply-chain disruptions. It is in line with (and funded by) similar upgrades at LMU’s Westchester and Playa Vista campuses.

Meanwhile, modernization of the Public Safety Office in the parking structure blends physical security, digital systems, and ergonomic design to support teams that help keep the LLS community safe 24/7. And LLS’ Campus Operations team was able to cost-effectively parlay essential repairs in the Fritz B. Burns Building into a re-imagined staff lounge space that serves as a collaboration hub thanks to a new seating configuration.

Finally, the LLS garden once again produced a bountiful summer harvest, including six heirloom tomato varieties, basil, chives, onions, eggplant, carrots, artichoke, peppers, and cucumbers. By the basketball court, a cornfield with stalks up to 8 feet high is thriving after Professor Rebecca Delfino generously donated heirloom corn seeds her family gathered generations ago. The jewel-colored, popcorn-ready kernels are expected to be harvested at the end of the summer.