Official: New $77M Student Center The First Of Its Kind
Posted: August 6, 2014
By KASSONDRA CLOOS
HARRISONBURG — The new Student Success Center, reincarnated from parts of the old Rockingham Memorial Hospital, is so large it may be hard to imagine James Madison University could fill it.
The university, though, had no shortage of prospective tenants.
In fact, JMU could have stuffed more features into the 250,000-square-foot facility, but instead opted to focus on making the best use of what it had rather than trying to cram too much in, said Randy Mitchell, associate vice president of Student Success programs.
“If anything, it was ‘there’s no more room at the inn,’” Mitchell said. “But all of these offices were [previously] in spaces that weren’t designed to do what they do. They were in spaces that were designed for other functions. So, coming over here, every one of these offices got to design their workspaces. That’s very rare.”
The building’s nearly two dozen departments and three dining facilities — including Harrisonburg’s first full-service Dunkin’ Donuts — finished moving in within the past couple of weeks and are ready for students to start flowing in on Aug. 25, the first day of class.
During a tour of the facility on Tuesday, Mitchell said the $77 million Student Success Center is the first of its kind in the country, and JMU is waiting for visitors from other institutions to check it out and attempt to follow in its footsteps.
JMU purchased the former hospital for about $50 million in 2005.
RMH, now known as Sentara RMH Medical Center, continued to operate at the facility at the intersection of Mason Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way until it moved into its new campus on Port Republic Road south of Harrisonburg in 2010.
The Student Success Center is part of the university’s larger plan for the old hospital, which includes using the former emergency department as a student health center.
The Student Success Center includes offices for financial aid and scholarships, card services, orientation, registration and learning centers for subjects including writing, science and math, communication and English.
What makes the building particularly special is the amount of faculty and staff input that went into its design, he said.
Each of the departments and learning centers in the five-story building were invited to contribute ideas for floor plans and the type of furniture in offices.
“Normally it’s, ‘Here’s your office. Here’s your hallway. This is it,’” Mitchell said. “So these folks got to spend about two years talking with architects and engineers. … They’re beautiful suites that these folks have come up with.”
For example, the Counseling Center and the Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices, formerly called Judicial Affairs, have a very tight, closed feeling because of the confidential nature of the services provided there.
The Counseling Center also has a relaxation room, featuring massage chairs, a meditation area and bean bag chairs.
Community Service-Learning, on the other hand, features a large, open space for students to collaborate with one another. Staff offices surround that space.
Walls in the building’s meeting rooms and classrooms were treated with a special paint so they can double as massive whiteboards.
The building also houses the EPIC — Enhancing Pedagogy through Innovative Classrooms — Center.
The EPIC Center is a collection of experimental classrooms for faculty to test new teaching methods. They feature moveable furniture, clusters of desks around TV screens, video cameras to broadcast classes and multiple projectors.
So many offices are housed in the center that it’s expected every JMU student will go through it at some point during their college careers. That’s good, Mitchell said, because it means students may learn about resources they wouldn’t find out about otherwise.
“By putting all of these things in close proximity, students will choose to come here for one of the functions we were talking about, and then they’ll be exposed to other things and leave here with more than what they thought they were coming for,” Mitchell said.
The atrium, decked out in JMU’s signature purple and gold, features space for hundreds of students to study, hold group meetings or hang out with their friends.
That includes serpentine couches, desks, tables with plentiful and easily accessible electrical outlets and seats reminiscent of exercise balls.
Initially, the Student Success Center’s hours will be from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends. Dunkin’ Donuts, which is open to the public, will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
Contact Kassondra Cloos at 574-6290 or [email protected]
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