Emily Medders / Roundup, Heidi Paul / Roundup
The new Student Services Building at Pierce College is right on schedule for its opening in September 2009, according to Joy McCaslin, Ph.D., vice president of student services.
“That’s the goal, but you never know with a new building,” she said.
The new Student Services Building will house admissions, counseling and assessment placing offices on the first floor. Special services for the disabled will also be available on that level and an elevator for access to the upper floors will be found under the main stairwell.
“We are right on schedule after a year of construction, despite only a few rain problems,” McCaslin said.
Occupying 47,000 square feet, the building is designed to deliver all the services students need.
“Our goal was to put all services together for the convenience of students,” McCaslin said.
Students frequently have to go from one end of the campus to the other for health, admissions or career assistance, as many of the services are spread around.
The first floor will provide an information desk staffed by Pierce students who can offer assistance to fellow students. A career center equipped with computers and wireless access, as well as a transfer center and counseling, admissions, assessment and special services offices, will be located on the ground level.
A new Health Services Office is set to open on the second floor, along with international students programs, financial aid and Extended Opportunity Program offices.
McCaslin, who will be moving onto the third-floor administration office along with Phyllis Braxton, dean of students, said a new staff lounge and conference room “big enough to hold events and workshops” is also planned.
“We wanted a building that is very accessible and prominent so when students drive onto the campus this is the first thing they see,” said McCaslin. “The goal is to put all of the services together for the convenience of the student.”
The Spanish-Mediterranean mission-style design was crafted to keep with Pierce’s architectural tradition since 1947, but also fits district certifications as an environmentally friendly structure.
“The design [goal is] to be a prominent and accessible venue, especially for new students,” McCaslin said. “New students will come in and see where to go and get help that can be offered.”
There will be a large event in honor of the grand opening, but a date has not been set.
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Andres Avitia, 25, drinks a bottle of water during a break on March 18, 2009. With “a ton” of private jobs under his belt, he said, Avitia has been a construction worker on the Student Services Building, his first school project, for more than three weeks. The Student Services Building is slated for completion in Sept. 2009. (Gil Riego Jr. / Roundup)
Joy McCaslin, vice president of student services, speaks about the mission style design of the new Student Services Building that is still undergoing construction at a news conference at Los Angeles Pierce College on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. McCaslin said “It’s a beautiful Southern California design.” Woodland Hills, Calif. (Aisha Ahal / Roundup)
