These facilities are basically catering/event spaces and meeting rooms - which I guess is what you're saying the university needs. The Rutgers Club isn't that much different other than it's not as large and doesn't have as much space and variety of spaces to offer. I think there is an impression by many that these alumni centers are something more - for instance a grand oak paneled club that they can hang out in or some other vague alumni oasis. The reality is that they're basically event and conference centers.
I'd be interested in hearing what the actual demand is and what our shortfalls are - in other words who and what aren't we able to accommodate? The big question is what are the demands for space and what is the willingness of groups to pay for those spaces? If the demand is there and the facility can essentially be self-supporting than it makes sense.
The University should look at different options throughout campus and it's possible that having a variety of multi-purpose spaces across campus is a better option than having one single alumni center. It might be better to invest in enhancing and expanding existing spaces (Rutgers Club, University Inn, etc) while also adding additional spaces elsewhere. I also don't know what a project of your scale would cost but it would certainly be significant - so the questions immediately becomes is that the most effective use of those dollars? Again I don't know the answer.
I like the creativity in your concept just not sure it's the right fit.
The use of the facility depends on the space itself; some (like Maryland's and Minnesota's) are exactly what you describe: catering spaces and meeting rooms. Others, like U.N.C.'s are used much more for connecting people from the community. It's bringing people on campus who wouldn't necessarily otherwise have a need, and giving them an opportunity to interact with campus folks.
The Rutgers Club was originally conceived of as a place for alumni, faculty, and community leaders to come together. Nowadays, it simply...isn't. It's an event space where there's food. It has few-to-no connections to alumni associations, faculty, etc. Case in point? It's hosting a mother's day luncheon on the day of graduation.
Rutgers has 6 multipurpose rooms. One is in each student center, and only one of them is a really modern space: Livingston. It's occasionally used for Bar Mitzvahs, receptions, small conferences, etc. There are currently some holes in the wall, and it's decor is decidedly meant for those kinds of lower scale events. Cook may as well not even have an MPR, it's simply too far away from everything. For all we talk about having 4 co-equal campuses, we really don't. College ave is, and will continue to be, the center of Rutgers-New Brunswick. Even more so after they build the new quad in a couple of years.
Either way, an MPR isn't meant to hold the kinds of galas and receptions that cater to a more formal crowd. There are some smaller spaces for more formal receptions; the Rutgers Club is one, and the reception room in Winants used to be another, we will see how much use it receives from outside departments now that the office of the president is in there. We still aren't sure what the policy will be. There's also the faculty dining room of Brower which is...well...interesting? Food's still Brower.
Otherwise, large formal events take place off campus. Either in Hillel, at the Heldrich, the Hyatt, the Seminary. All very nice facilities, with significant costs and drawbacks. In an Alumni center, we could host significantly more alumni events, in part because the alumni associations wouldn't need to spend significant amounts of money on space rentals. That means more non-athletics based alumni coming back to campus and having a connection with their school.
Did you know that Rutgers has a Hall of Distinguished Alumni, but doesn't actually have a hall for distinguished alumni. Previously, all the plaques were scattered around the hallways and rooms of Winants Hall, now I think there will be a relatively small digital exhibit in Van Nest's alumni house. How do we honor and preserve alumni history? What does it mean to be honored by the university? There's no place to bring students in and say, "look, your experience is made possible by people like this. These are the people who had your experience and look what they did with it. These are the heights you Rutgers degree can take you."
The Rutgers inn is...fine? Adequate? It's not even close to what this would be and it's very isolated.
The Rutgers Visitor center is excellent for tours of prospective and admitted students. But for bringing back alumni outside of football it's isolated, small, and its displays are both outdated and hard to update. It's really there for the visitor to the university who knows nothing, not the friend or alumnus coming back to campus.
In summary,
An Alumni Center is not a vague alumni oasis, nor is it a mere collection of rental and recreational rooms. The first is a waste and the second is a student center. It's a space to re-engage with Rutgers alumni that aren't interested in Athletics, honor Alumni that contribute to the school, and bring people on campus in the heart of campus rather than in the boonies on Busch. It's also a way to keep event dollars (from Greek formals, Rutgers departments, etc.) On campus.
