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- Student Center Opening
JSC to Celebrate Grand Opening of Student Center
The much-anticipated grand opening of the new student center at Johnson State College will be held Thursday, October 30, at 3 p.m. The celebration will include a traditional ribbon cutting, as well as a reception and activities in spaces throughout the new student center.
A $7 million renovation has transformed Stearns Hall into a hub of student life on-campus, with a variety of new services, and recreational and social opportunities for students.
The building houses the college dining hall; WJSC, the college’s radio station; a post office; women’s center; student government association offices; and a conference room. New spaces within the student center that are designed to improve student life include a café, a small performing arts theater, a movie theater, a TV and video lounge, a gaming room, and a new fireplace lounge.
Art within the new student center will be selected from the work of JSC faculty, students in the college’s Master of Fine Arts program, and visiting artists at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson. Many of the exhibits in Stearns will rotate throughout the year. Emerging British-born artist, Gowri Savoor (http://www.gowrisavoor.com) and long-time faculty member, Ken Leslie, kick off this initiative to merge arts, culture, and community in Stearns.
As part of its mission of environmental sustainability, the college worked with architects Freeman French Freeman and contractors DEW Construction to ensure the new student center is environmentally sensitive. Examples of environmentally responsible construction include: certified sustainable flooring; low-emission carpeting, vinyl tile, and rubber flooring; and safe plastic laminate countertops. Paints, wall coverings and fabrics were also chosen for their air-quality standards. During construction, the college recycled more than 30 tons of metal, recovered clean wood, demolished concrete, plexiglass panels, and furniture.
College President Barbara E. Murphy said she saw the renovation of Stearns Hall into a true 24-hour student center as a “transformation” of the facility that would enhance the quality of community at the college. “We're creating a place for students to gather for activities as diverse as small study groups, conversation, music, film-viewing, game-playing, meals together,” said Murphy.
Murphy described the architectural and visual goals for the facility: “One of our goals was to integrate the building with the rest of the campus. Through careful landscaping and the increased use of glass to maximize solar gain, we have ‘anchored’ this very central building to the Quad.”
Financial donors to the college have had the opportunity to invest in the facility through naming opportunities that are currently a part of JSC’s first comprehensive major gifts campaign. To date, the college has received commitments for more than $45,000 in gifts to the new student center. Discussions with alumni and friends of the college continue.
Preparations for the renovation began in late 2007, and construction on the building started in mid-March 2008. Approval for the renovation came from the Vermont State Colleges’ board of trustees in October 2007.
