Alfred University News

Matt Yuhas ’94, returns to campus for work on Brick renovation project

Matt Yuhas was a sophomore art and design major at Alfred University when he lived in The Brick during the 1991-92 academic year. The oldest residence hall on campus, The Brick, with its wide hardwood hallways, high ceilings, and basement dining area, is beloved by the thousands of students who have called it home.


ALFRED, NY – Matt Yuhas was a sophomore art and design major at Alfred University when he lived in The Brick during the 1991-92 academic year. The oldest residence hall on campus, The Brick, with its wide hardwood hallways, high ceilings, and basement dining area, is beloved by the thousands of students who have called it home.

Yuhas, who earned a BFA degree from Alfred University in 1994, was back in The Brick this week. As territory sales manager for Upstate New York for Sauder Education, a furniture manufacturer primarily serving colleges and universities, he is supervising the assembly and installation of new furnishings throughout the three-story hall.

The furniture acquisition is the final part of a larger project to renovate and improve the Brick funded by a $1 million gift from Life Trustee Ann Moskowitz, wife of late longtime Board member Joel Moskowitz ’61, HD ’95. Renovations also included new windows throughout the building; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning upgrades; bathroom and shower renovations; installation of LED lighting; repainting; and refinishing of hardwood floors.

Five semi truckloads over two days (Wednesday, Aug. 17, and Thursday, Aug. 18) brought in furnishing for 47 rooms which will accommodate more than 90 students in the co-ed residence hall. Yuhas and a team of 16 workers unloaded the furniture, brought it into the hall, and assembled and installed it over the two days. Among the items: 96 beds; 47 wardrobes, 96 mobile pedestals; 96 desks; 148 two-door “stackers” that can be combined to create a four-door dresser; 8 36-inch square tables, 32 chairs, 12 lounge pieces for residence hall lounge/common areas.

Yuhas, who lives in Geneva, NY, has been in the furniture industry for most of his career. After graduation from Alfred University, he did custom blacksmith work (he had become interested in blacksmithing while at Alfred), was a professional cabinet maker, and worked in sales at CCN International Inc., a furniture maker in Geneva, before joining Sauder.

He said the Sauder-made furnishings are “designed to provide maximum flexibility for the students.” For example, the mobile pedestals are the same height as the desks, and can be used for either a nightstand or to increase workspace at the desk. The “stackers,” when put together, form a traditional dresser, or can be separated and tucked under the bed to free up floor space.

“We want to give students the ability to choose how they use the space,” Yuhas said. “And we want to create a welcoming atmosphere.”

That same concept applies to the lounge areas. Tables on casters are designed to be flipped upright and stored in alcove areas, expanding floor space. The tables can be place together to create workspaces that accommodate larger groups of students.

For Yuhas, being closely involved in the project to spruce up the Brick has been special.

“This place is near and dear to my heart. It’s just amazing,” he said, when asked how it feels to see the Brick now, as compared to when he was a student. “It was a great building back then. This just enhances it and makes it that much better.”

Special, too, has been his return to the campus. He lived in Openhym residence hall (now Connors Hall) as a first-year student in 1990. It was there, on his first night at Alfred, that Yuhas met his future wife, Jennifer (Noonan) Yuhas ’95 at a mixer for first-year students.

Yuhas said that Thursday was his and Jennifer’s 26th anniversary (they’ve been a couple for 32 years, he notes). Yuhas was in Alfred supervising the installation of the new furniture, so to mark the occasion, he spent part of the day driving around campus, taking photos with his phone, and sending them to Jennifer.

“There was the village bandstand, where we had our first date, and of course Openyhm and the Brick. We weren’t together, but we were able to remotely take a trip down memory lane.”