Ronan Hall the new home for most student service offices as offices make way for UC renovations
Renovations to the Bovee University Center will begin now offices once housed there have relocated to the newly-renovated Ronan Hall.
Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe said the goal was to make more space available in the UC for students to gather between classes and in the evening.
“In order to accomplish this,” Roscoe said, “the decision was made to move student service units to another location.”
The board of trustees decided in 2008 to give the $5-million UC and $3.6-million Ronan renovations the green light. According to previously published reports, the UC renovations were estimated to be completed in July 2011.
Roscoe said the decision to move offices and renovate the UC was not prompted by a desire to better organize the delivery of student services.
“Thousands of students walk through Bovee daily on their way to and from classes,” he said. “This made it very easy for students to stop by these offices for information and assistance.”
Director of Career Services Julia Sherlock said the new location in Ronan could present challenges because of location, but the move came with benefits.
“The high ceilings and new changes in Ronan give the building a more modern feel,” Sherlock said. “It better reflects the business culture of what we represent.”
Michelle Howard, assistant dean and director of academic advising and assistance, said she is not worried about the new location.
“It will take some time,” Howard said, “but in the future students should understand that we are another service center in addition to the UC and Warriner (Hall).”
THIRD FLOOR OF RONAN HALL English Language Institute International Affairs
An open lounge will occupy what was once the Dean of Students office, Academic Advising and Assistance and Career Services on the second floor.
Remaining offices will be relocated, new meeting rooms will be created and there will be additions to the Down Under Food Court.
Though most of the offices have made their move already, the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity is scheduled to move out of the Park Library next week.
“We are looking forward to having a permanent location in Ronan Hall which has been designed to suit our departmental needs,” said Assistant Director of OCRIE, Matthew Olovson. “This will allow us to provide the campus with even greater access to our services.”
In CMU’s history, there have been various opinions for where student service offices should be located.
“In the mid-1990s, the board of trustees and the university administration under former-President Leonard Plachta agreed that it would be a good idea to place student services in a centralized location,” Roscoe said. “This would send a message that student services are of high value.”
Then, he said the board of trustees and the university administration under former-President Michael Rao decided in the early 2000s to create a place where students could go to study and relax, creating a sense of community on campus.
