By Scott Allen
The Scene staff
Students returning to Forest Park this fall will find the Student Center has changed dramatically.
Offices and student services on the first two levels are being rearranged.
The objective is better accessibility, said Thomas Walker, vice president of student affairs.
“That’s the goal behind the renovations,” he said.
The bookstore, cashier’s office, financial aid and academic affairs are being grouped together to provide “one-stop shopping.”
“They’ve already begun work on the main level of the Student Center, where the Highlander Lounge will be,” Walker said. “(It’s) an area where enrollment services, admissions and registration will occur.”
Walker’s office and the office of Vice President of Academic Affairs Tracy Hall moved in July to new digs on the Student Center’s second floor.
“Since I was really down the hallway in G Tower (before the move), it made sense for me to be closer to where the action is when students have concerns,” Walker said. “I’m closer to that activity, and it’s easier for students to find.”
President Cindy Hess’s office has moved from the Student Center to the second floor of G Tower, along with community relations.
One of the most significant changes for students is the bookstore’s relocation to the southwest corner of the Student Center’s first floor.
The move was quite an undertaking.
“We were closed (the first week in July),” said Julia Hoffman, assistant manager of textbooks. “Then we opened in the new store July 8. It’s the biggest move I’ve ever been involved in.”
Staff packed up school supplies and textbooks by the thousands as they did their annual inventory.
“The moving-company people were all smiles until they got to the textbook boxes,” Hoffman said. “But they took everything in stride.”
The bookstore’s location isn’t as visible as the old one, off the lobby, and the space is smaller.
But it works, Hoffmann said, because students do more business over the Internet than in years past.
“A lot of people are commenting on the small size of the new store, and it is a challenge,” she said. “But we love the new space. With change there are always challenges, but we are willing to take them on.”
The bookstore now is next to the financial aid office, which helps.
“We still get some foot traffic that we (lost) from being off the lobby,” Hoffman said.
Kelli Harris, executive assistant to Hess, said the president’s new office in G Tower is working out well for them. They’re more spacious, allowing for better organization.
“We did not reconstruct anything,” Harris said. “We took the economic route. We took advantage of the existing space and added some paint (and new carpet). We even moved our old furniture.”
Harris said it was more important for the vice presidents’ office to be grouped together than it was for the president to be in the Student Center.
“In the successful college models, there’s transparency between the vice president of student affairs and the vice president of academic affairs,” Harris said. “I think it will be a better resolution process for students.”
Hess now is near Information and Marketing Coordinator Susie King Edmiston and Community Relations Coordinator Lynn Venhaus.
Edmiston said this move will help the college move quicker on emergency alerts, cancellations and other information that must be disseminated to students.
However, Venhaus said they’re still getting adjusted to their new space in G Tower.
“Summer is supposed to be slower, but it’s not,” Venhaus said. “We’re very busy.”