University philanthropist Carl Shapiro has agreed to donate $14.3 million for the construction of a new admissions center to replace the current building, Brandeis administrators said.The current office will be torn down this spring, and construction will begin at the same location in July with the aim of opening the new center in summer 2009, administrators said.

The building, originally called Morton May, was built in the 1950s and used for academic purposes, Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer said. It was renovated in 1994 with a donation from the Shapiro family and was turned into the Shapiro Admissions Center.

The Center is no longer a large enough space to accommodate the University's 9,000 annual visitors, said Jean Eddy senior vice president for students and enrollment. That figure has risen by 2,000 in the last year, she said.

"What we're envisioning is a welcome center-a state of the art presentation room that will seat up to 100 people because we have now more visitors to campus, and we want to be able to present Brandeis in a way that we haven't been able to in the past," Eddy said.

The University commissioned Charles Rose Architects in Somerville Mass. to design the new building, said Peter French, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Rose also designed the $25 million Carl J. Shapiro Campus Center, which opened in 2002.

The new office will house a larger, more centrally located presentation room, Eddy said. The current room lies in the building's basement, seats 50 people and contains interview rooms, an office for Financial Aid and seating areas where students can chat with prospective students and their families.

Admissions has often had to find other venues when larger groups visit the school because of the presentation room's small size, Eddy said.

Dean of Admissions Gil Villanueva said in a phone interview that first impressions are very important for universities trying to attract new students.

"If you were in a position to look into colleges and the only place you experience there doesn't impress you, that will influence which schools you decided to apply to and which schools you decide to attend," Villanueva said.

"We'll have a place where we can provide the famous cookies that we're noted for and coffee and cider and even a place where we'll be able to have Brandeis T-shirts, etc." Eddy said.

While Vice President of Capital Projects Dan Feldman said administrators considered simply renovating the office, he said this wouldn't allow the University to achieve its vision of a welcome center.

"We were focusing on the idea of perhaps a larger presentation room, but to really create . all of those experiences wrapped into one package, it just became clear . that we needed this new facility," Feldman said.

While the building is under construction, administrators said they're still deciding where to temporarily house Admissions. Moving the office into trailers or off-campus sites are among the options, Feldman said.

While the construction will inevitably cause disruption for visiting families, Eddy is optimistic.

"Families who come to campus talk about how exciting it is that the University is investing so much in the future she said. They're all signs that Brandeis is really on the move."

Villanueva said a serious admissions office can show prospective students what they can look forward to at Brandeis.

"It is true that many institutions are starting to upgrade their admissions office, especially because universities are becoming more expensive, so the admissions office represents what perspective students might benefit from if they come," he said.

French said that undertaking this project in the summer is the least disruptive time, but he explained that the first four to six months of any project will produce the worst noise.

To mitigate noise, Feldman said administrators are coordinating with students and the Department of Residence Life. He plans to brainstorm ways to mitigate noise.

Residents of Ziv Quad and the Village have complained this fall about early-morning construction noise on the new Ridgewood, but Feldman has said keeping the project on schedule requires construction work to begin at 8 a.m.

In the end, any disruptions will be well worth it, administrators said.

"I don't think we realized the possibility of a new building, which was a dream, but I don't know that we thought that it could really happen until the Shapiro's offered that as a possibility through their generosity," Feldman said.