Calumet College of St. Joseph May 2026 update
On-campus construction and off-campus visits
Calumet College of St. Joseph broke ground on the new practice field and Fitness & Flora Park in December, but with the improved spring weather, the college is finally able to truly begin construction for this new addition to campus. On April 6, the demolition crew began breaking up and removing the old asphalt from the former industrial parking lot that had laid dormant for years.
The Fitness & Flora Park will add a rejuvenating green space for college and community use, with three dozen trees and a variety of native plants. The practice field will serve as a home field for the new Crimson Wave women’s flag football team and a practice space for other sports. The field will be completed by fall 2026, and the bulk of the rest of the project will be completed by the end of the calendar year. This is one of the many projects on campus supported by the Lilly Endowment Campus & Community Collaboration Initiative grant awarded to the college in 2024.
Another large project supported by the Lilly Endowment grant is the nearly completed renovation of the seventh floor of CCSJ’s Schmidt Building. Some finishing touches in this campus and community space will include murals that celebrate the mission of the college. There will be an indoor mural featured in the new Schmetterling Lobby designed and installed by three current CCSJ students. Angela De Jesus Cervantes, Gabriela Tirado Malagon, and Arit Victoria Cervantes Gomez submitted a piece depicting a butterfly, which represents the transformational growth that our students undergo during their time with CCSJ.
On Good Friday, Campus Ministry at CCSJ organized a trip to visit the Shrine of Christ’s Passion in St. John, Indiana. “It was a great opportunity for our group of students and staff to reflect on Christ’s passion with people from across the Midwest,” said Campus Minister Larry Cubalchini. “The Shrine of Christ’s Passion is a great place to visit and pray; on Good Friday, we are reminded about the scale of what Christ did for us 2,000 years ago.” CCSJ staff member Jim Brennan joined this off-campus trip and reflected, “It was great to be part of such a large crowd of faithful people of all ages.”