Take a look inside Ross House, the new home for Washburn University president

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Take a look inside Ross House, the new home for Washburn University president

From doughnuts in the drive to dining with dignitaries,

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can now host to her fullest potential.

On Friday, Mazachek and Washburn University unveiled the new house at 1709 S.W. MacVicar St. for current and future university presidents. Mazachek hosted her first event on the property where faculty and students could walk through the house for the first time, eat doughnuts and discuss the future of Washburn.

“I actually am still a little bit of pinching myself,” Mazachek said. “I’ll be honest. It’s very exciting. We’ve been looking forward to it and we know how important this is to the university. We’re just thrilled to be able to be the first residents.”

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Washburn University president JuliAnn Mazachek and her husband, Keith Mazachek, stand in front of the new Ross House at 1709 S.W. MacVicar St.

The Ross House named after alumni family

The Ross House, named after a prominent alumni family, began excavation July 21, 2023 and the keys were officially handed over July 31. During the process, Mazachek played a large role in determining how to achieve a more functional space than previous homes.

“So, there are some events that we just haven’t ever been able to do because we couldn’t have as many people at the house, but one of the things I think is so important is being able to have your faculty, staff and students in small groups,” Mazachek said. “So, that you can have meaningful conversation

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and what we want to do together and talk about all the things that make Washburn special.”

While construction was underway, Washburn hired local business, Thiessen Design + Construction, along with local craftsmen and recruited the help of students at Washburn Institute of Technology.

“One of the biggest things that we’ve been involved with is really focusing on using local craftsmen,” Mazachek said. “So, we had local Thiessen Design + Construction, they were our firm we worked with and they were fantastic. Then they used local contractors. We even had students that did some of our electrical wiring.”

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A formal dining area features Washburn University blue colors and elegant furniture.

Here are the numbers on Washburn University’s new Ross House

Shawnee County has the property listed at 1.07 acres, or 46,609 square feet. The total square footage of the house and garage is 11,799 — 3,689 square feet for the unfinished basement, 3,689 for the first floor, 3,329 for the second floor and 1,092 for the garage, which is separated by a breezeway.

There are 5 bedrooms, 5 full bathrooms and 4 half bathrooms at the house.

The first floor is the open area for entertainment and hosting events, while the second floor is private for the university president and family. The second floor wasn’t shown to the media.

On the first floor, there is one bedroom and full bathroom for guests of Washburn. There are also two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant half bathrooms, an hidden bathroom for catering staff, a speakeasy-styled small bar, a living space, kitchen, dining room and study.

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Alumni donors pay for Ross House

Joy Bailes, director of internal communications and brand management, said the property was purchased by the Washburn Alumni Foundation in November 2021. Because acquiring property near campus can be difficult, they purchased the land as soon as it was available.

“You can’t manufacture property, which can make it hard,” Bailes said.

Lori Hutchinson, strategic communications and marketing executive director, said the university wouldn’t disclose how much construction cost but said it was paid for by alumni donations.

Former president Jerry Farley retired in September 2022. His separation agreement with the university allowed him and his wife to continue to live in the

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for a ******* of five years after his retirement.

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Ross House uses a classic take on modern architecture

Mazachek said while this is a new house, she and others wanted to bring a classic feel to the property to allow it to blend in with the neighborhood and campus.

“I love the fact that it looks like Washburn and that it’s so inviting when you come in it,” Mazachek said. “What we were hoping that it would do is it would just invite you to come in and want to sit down and have conversation. Then we have a lot of memorabilia around that I love because it commemorates all that’s good, all the history of Washburn.

“Then of course, we do have a beautiful art piece from one of our alumni that’s in the in the dining room, and I’m very excited about that.”

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Historic Washburn University artifacts and pictures hang on a wall at the Ross House.

Washburn historian Martha Imparato said she could see the idea come to life and commended the many historical elements, including memorabilia, placed throughout the first floor.

“I think that it shows that we’re proud of Washburn and we care about the present and the future,” Imparato said. “We also care about the past. We care about honoring the past and those who came before.”

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal:

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#Ross #House #home #Washburn #University #president

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