Thanks to support from the Oregon State Legislature and student fees, a Student Success Center is coming to campus in 2024. Starting this month and over nearly a year, OSU-Cascades students will be invited to engage in design input opportunities ranging from surveys to events, to joining a committee of stakeholders. This new building is for students, after all. Let’s dive into the role of the Student Success Center and the design opportunities underway this spring and fall.
What is the Student Success Center?
The Student Success Center (SSC) will be a three- to four-story, 20,000 – 22,500 square foot student support building located north of Edward J. Ray Hall near the flagpole. The building will include a combination of flexible use spaces for study and tutoring, arts presentation, informal gathering, and student involvement, including space for multi-cultural, social activities, and outdoor programs. It will also house offices and facilities for services critical to student success such as counseling, academic and career advising, DEI, and the Associated Students of Cascade’s Campus (ASCC).
A committee selected Opsis as the building’s architecture firm and Andersen as the builder. We welcome them to our campus and look forward to working with the teams to engage students in the design process.
The SSC is likely to be constructed of mass timber like Edward J. Ray Hall and aspires to cost effectively display OSU-Cascades’ sustainability goals in every aspect of its construction. It is OSU’s goal for two floors of the SSC to include multi-gender restrooms. Obsidian Hall, with its dining, study and gathering areas, is currently considered the campus “family room”. The SSC will bring a vibrant energy to a new side of the campus with a study and socializing lounge that will be open extended hours and offer a small coffee bar. This space will feel inviting with warm tones and materials. The offices and services will focus on supporting students in a centralized manner, and the space layout should support that. The SSC will feel comfortable and welcoming, exuding hygge.
What is HYGGE?
Hygge is a Danish term that defines a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment and well-being. It is the finding of comfort, pleasure, and warmth in simple things such as a comfortable environment and the feeling of friendship. You’ll learn more about this and have an opportunity to share what hygge means to you soon.
Objectives of the SSC
Student success is the initial focus of the long-term vision for this building. The building also offers an opportunity for a unique outdoor area for student, staff and faculty enjoyment. The project may also enhance the amphitheater initiated during the Ray Hall project, with additional outdoor step seating. The SSC will be the center of OSU-Cascades’ display of our support for a diverse campus where individuals from all backgrounds are welcome and comfortable. I’m confident that the team of Andersen|Opsis will help us develop a vision for multicultural spaces in the SSC that fulfills this priority.
Community Experts Design Advocates (CEDAs)
Andersen|Opsis will form a CEDA for the SSC project. The CEDA will be comprised of a core group of students, staff, faculty, and community members interested in engaging the campus community and working closely with the design and construction team on the design of the Student Success Center. In this process, we are focused on centering the voices of people who have been historically marginalized, including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, People of Color, LGBTQ+, first-generation students, non-traditional students, and low-income students.
CEDA members will work with the Andersen|Opsis team over a 12-month period:
- Timeframe: Spring 2022 – Spring 2023
- Commitment: 25 hours total, 2-3 hours every, 2-3 weeks
- Compensation (students): $25/hr provided through VISA gift cards per event
- Tasks:
- Help define, plan, and organize engagement activities and tools
- Assist with facilitation and communication during activities and events
- Gather participation across the campus community
- Keep the design team accountable
If you are interested in becoming a member of the CEDA group, please complete this survey.
More information about the project and its engagement opportunities will be posted on our website at https://osucascades.edu/campus-expansion/student-success-center. I will also continue to post updates to this blog, so stay tuned!
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