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New Student Center/Library meets needs by Cindy Abole Public Relations Students on MUSC’s campus have a little more room to meet, study and congregate in a newly renovated facility designed exclusively for their changing needs. On May 17, MUSC students and supporters unveiled the Education Center/Library facility located at the heart of campus. The open house gave graduating students a preview of the facility   Dr. Valerie West, center, leads a tour in one of three dividable classrooms in the newly renovated Student Center/Library May 17. Organized at a time when space is considered a campus commodity, MUSC administration and student leaders reacted to students' need for space by creating a comfortable new environment that supports learning and preparing the state’s next medical scientists and health care practitioners.   “The entire building is devoted to students and education,” said Valerie West, Ed.D., associate provost for education and student life. “The building is no longer a mixed-use building. Its opening brings together many resources that support the academic mission.”      Several years in the planning, the new Student Center replaces meeting rooms and administrative office space, including the President’s Office. Aside from expanded classrooms and concession facilities, the center houses two programs, the Center for Clinical Evaluation and Teaching and Center for Academic Excellence located on the second floor. Both were displaced last June due to first phase of the new hospital construction.    “What made this project so successful was the teamwork and commitment,” said George Dawson, project manager, Engineering and Facilities. “Everyone from Dr. Greenberg and Dr. West to the students set specific goals and kept to it until its completion.”   At a cost of approximately $4 million, the center boasts the newest in wireless technology and connectivity within a functional design, while meeting multiple student needs of space, safety, technology and location. Its look is sleek and contemporary using calm earthy hues curves and circles in the walls, ceiling and floors to offset the building’s hard lines and sharp angles.      From its inception, West and university administration involved MUSC Student Government Association (SGA) leaders in directing the project. SGA President Alex Whitley and student leaders were part of a collaborative planning committee involved in the process. The students were even involved in such details as selecting furnishings. The group worked with NBM Construction and Mosely Architects.   “This opening is a dream come true for us,” said Whitley. “Our progress as a group in this project resulted in establishing a place to accommodate all students.”      The first floor accommodates 13 high tech classrooms and five meeting rooms, a lounge, dining area and Internet stations within a spacious 8,200 square foot area.   Classrooms feature projection systems and touch panel-controlled lecterns with the capability to accommodate computer, audio, video and external network connections.   Five meeting rooms and study areas are equipped with work tables and chairs, wireless and ethernet computer connectivity, phones, dry-erase and bulletin boards.   The center features a student lounge filled with comfortable couches and chairs, plus a four-unit plasma video wall. At its opposite end is a multi-level dining room area outfitted with bistro tables and chairs and self-serve kitchen area. The building’s lobby will house  eight stand-up computer stations.      Accessibility and safety were two priorities considered by students. Students requested that certain areas of the building be key-card accessible and that all rooms be outfitted with telephones. Students also recommended that first-floor perimeter windows have dark, one-way safety tinting.   “As an academic medical center, MUSC focuses on the health of the community and the education of its students,” Whitley said. “By opening this center, it sends a message that the institution supports student education and places students first when it comes to providing a strong, supportive learning environment. ”      Friday, May 27, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.