After 19 months of renovations, the L.A. Pittenger Student Center is finally ready for its ribbon cutting and rededication ceremony.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the building's grand reopening today, which will feature remarks from President Jo Ann Gora, Student Government Association President Beth Cahill and Kay Bales, vice president of Student Affairs.
Lynda Wiley, assistant vice president of Student Affairs and director of Student Life, said she is expecting 75 to 100 students as well as several staff and faculty members and student organizations that have been a part of the renovation project.
Gora will speak on the overall enhancements of the university and how the Student Center renovation has contributed to making the university more vibrant, said Wiley.
Bales will provide a history of the building followed by its evolution to what it is today. Cahill will discuss the effects of the renovation on the students.
The ribbon cutting will follow their remarks.
After the ceremony, the building will be opened up as a chance to show off its many new features. There will be food stations positioned throughout different locations as people walk on self-guided tours.
Greg Graham, interim director of Facilities Planning, said the Student Center has transformed into an open and energetic space.
Improvements inside the Student Center include a more inviting entrance on the north side of the building with an information desk just inside the front doors. All student organization offices are now on the first floor, and the food court was made into a more open area after raising the ceilings and removing walls. There also are more efficient lighting and heating and cooling systems.
"The building is a lot more up to the standards that we should expect," Graham said.
Wiley said all renovations are complete and that they are now waiting on the remaining new furniture to be delivered.
Reflecting on the Student Center enhancements, Wiley said the building is always full now and is more at capacity.
"When part of the building opened at the beginning of the academic year, there was a big difference with the increase in students," Wiley said. "The increase in students shows that if you have a nice facility and good food that people will come to utilize the space."
Now when Wiley goes to eat in the Student Center there is hardly an open seat, she said.
Charlotte Dunlap, a sophomore telecommunications major, said although she lives in Woodworth Complex, she doesn't mind the walk over to the Student Center because of the new improvements.
"I find myself waiting in lines there, which used to never happen," she said.
Veronica Corona, a senior secondary education social studies, said that because she doesn't live on campus, she doesn't get to use the newly renovated building as much as she'd like to.
"It is a lot nicer here than when I was a freshman. Everything is more new and improved. I wish I had the chance to utilize it when I lived on campus," she said.
More students' satisfaction should increase once all the rooms become available for full-time use, Wiley said.
The ceremony is at 4 p.m. in the Student Center Tally.
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