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In the fall of ‘88 “Mod Quad” was created as the newly built Knott and Siegfried Halls welcomed their new residents. Janice Poorman, then rector of Knott Hall, explained, “the University is trying to maintain the delicate balance in ratios of men and women, and class size freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.”

Several other renovations, including the expansion of North Dining Hall, were made to accommodate the growing number of students. Nearly 40 years later, Notre Dame is still adding new dorms to keep up with the increasing number of residents on campus.

Notre Dame’s recent decision to require students to live on campus for a minimum of three years has no doubt contributed to a lack of available housing for undergraduate students. Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. has emphasized that “residential life is a distinctive hallmark of a Notre Dame undergraduate education, central to our mission to educate both minds and hearts.” Two new dorms are currently undergoing construction.

Unlike the $5 million building cost of Knott and Siegfried in 1988, the construction of the new men’s residence hall, which was gifted by University of Notre Dame alumnus John Baumer and his wife, Mollie, will cost $20 million. Baumer Hall, located on the south side of campus, will open in August of the 2019-2020 school year.

In order to keep with the tradition of balancing the gender ratio, a new women’s residence hall is being built in the East Quadrangle of campus, east of Dunne Hall. The hall has not yet been named but will accommodate 225 undergraduate women and is expected to be completed by August 2020.