On March 10, 2010, the university announced plans to construct a new residence hall. The need for a new residence hall was explained in a news release as being as the result of "retention rates well above national averages and a desire voiced by students to remain on campus during their junior and senior years".[10] The new hall was constructed on the former site of Des Places Hall, an academic building named after Claude Poullart des Places, the founder of the Spiritan congregation.