Student Success Center may be completed by end of semester

With fences scattered between pathways to the Hall-Patterson Building and Carolina Halls, creating mazes for campus pedestrians; reconstruction for the Student Success Center continues as of Jan. 27 . 

The construction cost for the Student Success Center, which was formerly known as Hill Hall, cost $15 million, Nasser Massry, university engineer for Winston-Salem State, said. 

According to Massry, the expected completion date for exterior construction is May, while the interior remodeling should be finished by February. Massry said that the major cause for the delay in construction is weather. Construction began last year.

"The issue we are dealing with is weather. The exterior of the building is all weather-dependent. 

"We are looking for the interior to be finished in February, but the exterior is iffy, because if it's 20 degrees outside, then they cannot pour concrete. So, they [construction workers] are limited in what they can do." 

Furnishings for the new Center include card readers, cameras, televisions and furniture, which are still being waited on, Massry said. A definite date for when furnishings would be completed was not given. 

Funds for reconstruction came from Title III, a federal program that grants monies to institutions for "planning, faculty development, endowment funds," and from bonds and fees. 

Several offices and departments will be moved to the Student Success Center. 

"The majority of the building is going to be the University College." 

Hauser will be renovated to make room for the music department. The Physical Plant building will be remodeled to house the visual arts department and the Fine Arts Building will be demolished, according to Massry. 

Along with University College, the Office of Career Services, technology support and TOEFL/GRE testing will have spaces in the new center. 

The Office of International Programs will be relocated to the new Center. Rickford Grant, international programs adviser, said he is optimistic about the move to the Student Success Center. The OIP is located in the Old Nursing Building, which has not been renovated since its construction in 1955. 

"We [OIP] have been here for about three years," Grant said. 

He said that the office moved from Hauser in 2010 and their occupancy in Old Nursing was always iterated as temporary. 

Grant says that there is some uncertainty about the new space, but he said he hopes the location will attract some new faces to the OIP. 

Deana Brim, program assistant for OIP, said, "Though we are thankful for this space [Old Nursing], it's so dark and gloomy." 

OIP will be losing their lounge area in exchange for individual faculty offices. Despite this change, Brim said the good outweighs the bad of the unknown. 

"We're looking forward to connecting with other offices instead of standing alone," she said. 

Myiesha Speight, senior English major from Upper Marlboro, Md., said she hopes that students will put great use into the newly remodeled building. 

Speight, who is a former writing center tutor, also said that she is excited that the Student Success Center centralizing the location of writing services for the campus. 

"I want to see students start using their resources and developing more effectively as students and people. This building has the potential to greatly improve WSSU," she said.