Campus offices relocate

Georgia College is undergoing a series of office relocations that are causing confusion for many. Associate Provost Tom Ormond says seven departments have moved: Student Health Services, Counseling Services, Career Center, Disability Services, Center for Student Access, International Education Center and The GIVE Center. 

Each department was chosen for relocation after Georgia College’s Space Planning Committee studied the best method of space utilization, says Ormond.

Institutional space planning and “preparation for the moves has been in discussions for up to five years,” Ormond said. Once an agreement has been reached within the committee, recommendations are given to university Interim President Stas Preczewski for further action.

Within the seven department moves, Student Health Services and Counseling Services are the most drastic because they have moved from Main Campus to West Campus.

A concern that Counseling Services has is not every student goes to West Campus as often as Main Campus and it might create some challenges regarding transportation, according to Georgia College Counselor Steve Wilson.

“For me it’s easier to go to West Campus because I can just drive to the Wellness Center where there are plenty of parking spaces, whereas I would have to walk ten minutes to campus and wouldn’t be able to drive, and when you’re feeling sick you don’t want to walk,” sophomore psychology major Mary Saba said.

Faculty are also adjusting to the Counseling Services move.

“The move has been fairly smooth…there have been challenges but there’s always an adjustment coming to a new space,” Wilson said. Counseling Services has struggled with their phone line connection, but Wilson says the phone issues seem to be resolved.

One of the concerns that Counseling Services and other departments are having is the lack of knowledge of department relocations and students having trouble accessing the moved departments.

Mass Communication junior Mary Barnett says she wasn’t aware of the

multiple department moves.

“I didn’t know the moves had taken place already but now that I know I will probably go more to the Health Services and Counseling Services, because I work out a lot at the new Wellness Center,” Barnett said.

The planning stages of the operation was the most difficult part of the mass of relocations, according to Ormond.

“The biggest obstacle was developing the best plan to ensure that programmatic space needs were met,” Ormond said.

“I wish the school had done some more marketing and communication to the students because I never knew about the changes until it was for The Colonnade interview, ” Barnett said.

With many changes to West Campus and Lanier Hall, Georgia College looks forward to other relocations in Beeson Hall and Ennis Hall and future renovations, according to  Ormond.

Posted by Steffi Beigh on Jan 19 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.