Eleven offices have moved out of the Ferguson Center into temporary locations scattered across campus as of March 1.
Cathy Andreen, director of media relations, said the 11 displaced offices will return to the Ferguson Center in time for the Fall 2014 semester in August, when the renovations are expected to be completed. Andreen also said the Blackburn Institute will join the list of departments housed in the Ferguson Center, in addition to several other expansions and changes.
“The renovation and expansion of the Ferguson Center includes doubling the floor plans for the Career Center and the SUPe Store, plus adding six meeting rooms and providing more general seating areas for student use,” Andreen said. “The food court area will also see a major renovation, as the Fresh Food Company will move to a different facility.”
(See also “Expansion ongoing at Ferguson Center“)
The moving process was relatively smooth for several of the offices involved. Elizabeth Myers, program assistant for the Crossroads Community Center, said her office encountered a couple small speed bumps on the way but had a smooth transition overall.
“Thankfully we have a wonderful team of students and staff who helped make our move as easy as possible,” Myers said. “Our move was extremely easy, and thankfully we did not encounter any issues besides just needing more computer outlets once we got moved in and settled.”
Travis Railsback, director of the Career Center, said his office was able to coordinate its move to the former Capstone Medical Center building at the end of last semester.
“We were concerned about trying to make the move in the middle of the semester and to still conduct the business that we normally conduct,” Railsback said. “The biggest thing we were concerned about was students not being able to find us when the new year started, but we communicated pretty extensively on our website and through other means to let students know where we’re at.”
SGA president Jimmy Taylor said the SGA relied on help from its organization to make the move.
“It was definitely an arduous process, but people from all branches of SGA came by to help with the transition, which eased the burden,” Taylor said.
Railsback said with careful planning, the Career Center has actually seen greater numbers this semester than this time last year despite the move across campus. Measures were considered to make up for a potential drop in numbers, but they have not had to be used.
“We really tried to think it through to head off any potential problems,” Railsback said. “We thought we might have to make some adjustments once the year started, but so far so good. Our student traffic is actually up versus the same time last year.”
Taylor said the SGA office saw the most complications during the transition period into the new office in 307 Russell Hall, but the election process was not severely interrupted.
“There have been some complications with moving offices and not having all of our resources available as they were moved from place to place,” Taylor said. “But, as far as elections and campaigning are concerned, we have not seen any real disruption.”
(See also “2014-15 SGA election results“)
Myers expressed her office’s concern about being distanced from students, the basis of the Crossroads Community Center.
“Our program works directly with students, so needless to say, being so ‘removed’ from campus has been an adjustment,” Myers said.
The second floor of the Ferguson Center will remain open until May 1, when the Ferguson Theater, Credit Union, Art Gallery, Crimson Copies and all food services will close. Starbucks, the SUPe Store and the Mail Center on the ground floor will remain open throughout the renovation process.
(See also “Ferguson Center to see big expansion“)
