By Karla Fonseca
Staff Writer
Roscoe West, formerly the College’s library built in 1968, serves as a pillar on campus for student advising and success located across from Quimby’s Prairie. Renovations have begun to restore this historic building on campus.
Construction crews are currently renovating the second floor of Roscoe West.
“The second-floor renovations include rooms that were left unoccupied during the last renovation to Roscoe West Hall, which will house the relocated tutoring center and a student commons,” said Maggie Greco, the Senior Director of Planning, Design and Construction.
Additionally, the second floor is being painted a light shade of blue, in contrast to the white it previously had.
“The construction is nearly complete and we are hoping to be able to open the tutoring center in its new location this fall,” Greco added.
Renovations will begin slowly this year as the construction staff works through the building. Greco stated the goal is to start lower-level construction in April 2024 and have it finished by Dec. 2024. The first floor will be renovated during the summer of 2024.
Greco states, “The first-floor work … will update the mentoring, retention, success programs area and the career center, and will renovate the former tutoring center as the new institutional advising support center.”
The new Academic Advising Center will increase the advising capacity of the college and improve academic advising. It will directly advise specific student populations and provide advising support to academic departments.
Furthermore, the ground floor will be undergoing renovations to add classrooms as well as the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
“With the help of a grant from [the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education] we will be able to reimagine the lower level of Roscoe West to house much-needed additional classrooms and to create a home for the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning,” Greco said.
Presently, the ground floor of Roscoe West is unoccupied. The Career Center, the Tutoring Center, and the Student Success & Mentoring are located on the first floor. The Intercultural Center, the Sarnoff Collection, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) are located on the second floor.
Students of the College hope that Roscoe West can continue to cultivate a space where students can seek help and guidance, notwithstanding its current renovations.
“I think that Roscoe West has so many necessary centers and programs for students, especially students who are minority students who require extra accessibility through ARC,” Meghna Harinath, a junior biology student, said.
“It’s always great to improve upon things that could perhaps benefit more students but as long as they maintain those spaces for POC (People of Color) and marginalized communities, as well as students who require disability and tutoring, I think that the renovations seem like a good idea in order to expand those opportunities for people.”
