One of the most important student resource centers on campus underwent a dramatic transformation this summer, moving from its original, cramped space in Harnwell College House to Stouffer Commons.
Though a formal dedication ceremony will not be held until the end of October, the newly renovated Weingarten Learning Center is already up and running. The center offers academic support to help students manage their course loads and gain stronger study skills, among other things.
"My sense is, every time I go over there, the people are just ecstatic about the space. Everything you see is new," Design and Construction Managing Director Mark Wilson said.
The project, which cost $1.9 million, began shortly after move-out last year and was completed at the end of August.
The center -- home to both the Office of Learning Resources and Student Disabilities Services -- now occupies approximately 10,500 square feet, over three times as much space as its previous quarters.
Unlike its previous space, the center includes a large seminar room with Smart Board technology, a wireless computer room and more group study space.
SDS Director Jerome Knast noted that the fact that the center is located on one level, as opposed to being staggered and broken up as it was in Harnwell, makes the space "very convenient."
Center Director Myrna Cohen said that the project created "space where we could do what we were already doing, even better."
The space had previously been home to the Stouffer Commons dining hall and included a freight elevator and other dining services equipment, which is now concealed behind walls and columns.
"With a great deal of vision," the architects and design team transformed the space into a workable and functional area, said Cohen, who noted that other issues, including bringing light into the center of the office, were addressed by the construction design team.
"The intent of our project was to provide them with the accessible space" they needed, Wilson said.
"It was a complete gut of the existing space," Wilson noted, adding that, because the construction team started with an empty space, the renovation went smoothly.
Cohen noted that the suggestions of students were taken into account when the space was designed.
"We wanted students to feel comfortable," she said, noting that study spaces are sound masked to prevent distraction and protect privacy. Furthermore, students with disabilities have the technologically equipped rooms they need to succeed in their courses that they did not have before.
Though the center holds study skills workshops in places throughout campus -- frequently in response to the demands of different undergraduate, graduate and professional schools -- approximately 80 students pass in and out of the center each day for appointments with learning instructors.
"This year, the attendance has been extremely impressive," Cohen said.
A formal dedication of the center, which is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, will take place on Oct. 29.
