The College’s Learning Center inaugurated its new space in the A.C. Buehler Library with a week of festivities and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
On Friday, Feb. 8, the College held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Learning Center. Located on the main floor of the A.C. Buehler Library, the new space is both larger and more flexible than the Center’s previous home in the Frick Center.
Friday’s ribbon-cutting was the culmination of a weeklong celebration that included giveaways, sweet treats, photo ops with President Troy D. VanAken and mascot Victor E. Bluejay, and an Instagram contest.
“I always refer to the library as the academic heart of the institution,” said April Edwards, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, at the ceremony. “With the Weigand Center for Professional Excellence here and now the Learning Center too, we’re seeing all of our academic support spaces come together. That’s going to create so many opportunities for integration across centers and across different areas.”
Designed to be open and welcoming, the new space features a large open area with furniture that can be moved and reconfigured to accommodate different learning groups. Smaller multipurpose rooms offer a quiet setting for test taking or private sessions.
“Not only do we have more space now, but our new location is bright and fun,” said Tina Kazan, assistant dean for academic success. “And it helps us reach students where they are—in the library, studying. We hope to increase the number of tutoring sessions by 25 percent.”
The Learning Center provides free tutoring in math, writing, science and other subjects, along with classes on study skills and standardized test preparation. It also houses the Office of Access and Disability Services. The expansion of the Center ties in closely to the Elmhurst College 2021 Strategic Plan, whose priorities include boosting academic excellence and student success.
“One of the primary goals of the strategic plan is to increase student success,” President VanAken said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “We want students to be able to go on and get the jobs they want or go to graduate school, and this is a facility that will further those endeavors.”