ARC moving out of President Baker's new office
by Joanna Cox, Guest Reporter
Summer 2008 will bring a change of location to the Academic Resource Center. The center, which serves nearly 900 students and staff a semester, is currently to the right of the Student Life area on the third floor of the Edward Stevens Center. In the fall of 2008, however, this area will be occupied by President Robin Baker.
According to the president, "Wood-Mar has provided a good location for the president's office, but I believe there are some good reasons for a change."
By moving to where the ARC is the president hopes to, "make sure when our new provost, Patrick Allen, arrives that I am empowering him and the academic leadership to do their jobs."
The president also hopes to, "position myself as the chief advancement officer and advocate for the mission of the university." He says, "A change in office may help me make this shift in role. This would provide an excellent location to receive donors and guests;" by giving visitors, who meet with the president, a panoramic view of the college.
In addition he says, "The audit team also supported the idea of relocating the president's office and aligning it to meet the university's needs and priorities in the years ahead." In the coming years the university advancement and relations offices will likely move to where the Student Life offices are now.
For students frequenting the Stevens Center, President Baker's move to the ARC's current home may mean that they see the president more often. It will also mean, however, finding a new location for the ARC.
It is possible that students may not have to travel much further than they do now to benefit from the service the ARC provides.
The ARC may be moving to the currentCareer Services location. Another option, dependent upon funding approval, would involve the ARC being part of a reconfiguration plan of the Murdock Resource Center.
According to Merrill Johnson, the director at the library, the plan would combine the computer lab, the Academic Resource Center, and library computer access to information resources (catalog, licensed databases, etc.) into what would be referred to as an "information commons." This arrangement is similar to the George Fox Portland campus' library.
Merrill says, "The idea is to provide convenient access to resources and related services for students to help them through the steps of researching, creating, and completing research projects. I also believe that the reconfigured space in the library would be much more attractive and functional for students."
ARC consultants considered the pros and cons of moving to the library at one of their last meetings. They decided that it is a more convenient location for students and drop ins would be much more common. The consultants would also have many more resources at their disposal they could point students to.
But ARC consultants are also concerned that the ARC remains a place of privacy for students. They discussed several options for keeping the area more private, such as setting up plexiglas walls between the common area and the ARC.
Rick Muthiah, director of the ARC, says "I think students would benefit from easier access to the ARC, be more likely to drop-in for quick questions, and easily be assisted in use of any library resources needed for their research. The library might also gain some traffic as students come through to utilize the ARC."
But he also says, "I see the current Career Services area as a workable location that would have its own benefits. Student Life staff and student employees have been assisting with scheduling and providing off-hours reception for the ARC. Moving within the same area would be less of a change, so there are fewer questions about developing a climate conducive to the ARC's work. Processes and resources (copiers, basic supplies, etc.) are in place and wouldn't require adapting to a new environment."
Regardless of its new location, the ARC will remain a positive resource for all students and staff on campus. As ARC consultant Joel Moore put it: "The ARC is a very useful tool for all students; it's not just for students that are struggling, and it's not just for writing literature majors."
The ARC is a writing center, learning strategy resource, general tutoring site, and source of ready support for all students. Although the student body may know the benefits of the ARC, they will have to wait and see what the benefits of its new location will be.