Board gets update on college construction, renovation work
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 26, 2006 1:52 PM
The Wayne Community College Board of Trustees met in its new board room in the executive suite of the Dogwood Building Tuesday night.
The renovation project began in December 2005 as part of a move to expand the college's bookstore and centralize all student service functions, said Ken Ritt, vice president for educational support services.
"The administrative offices are right in the middle of all that," he said.
The Dogwood Building will now be home to offices for the college president and two vice presidents, human resources and clerical staff, as well as the business office.
In the midst of that is the modernized board room. Comparable in size to the previous one, Ritt said some of the furniture was replaced and audiovisual equipment was upgraded. The meeting room table, however, remains the same.
"We cut a chunk out of it and pushed it together," he said.
Nothing was wasted in the refurbishing, he said. Many of the furnishings and equipment were recycled -- given to other offices on campus or used in other capacities.
As for the Wayne Learning Center building, work is scheduled to be completed by March, Ritt said. With administrative offices cleared out, renovations are proceeding full force.
"We're ahead of schedule in terms of the whole project," he said.
Describing the expansion, Ritt said the bookstore will be used for fall registration but afterwards, will be reconstituted to a new space that has an additional 1,000 square feet.
"The old bookstore will be a seminar room for up to 44 seats," he said. Offices will also be expanded and used for financial aid, admissions and records and all counseling offices.
The former board meeting room will be turned into the college transfer advising center, he said. It will feature six cubicles with computers where students can meet with an adviser.
The career center, formerly in Dogwood, will be moved to the Wayne Learning Center building.
The complex will also be home to job placement, co-op and Jump Start, as well as the expanded student lounge, Ritt said.
Budget for the total project was $950,000, he added.
Ritt said he was proud of the upgrades being made to buildings that will be frequented by many in the coming years.
"I think we did a very good job of keeping it very modern," he said.