Indiana University Northwest junior Noah Miller, of Hobart, sees multiple possibilities in the university’s new Student Success Center.
Although it’s been open since January, IU President Pamela Whitten snipped the ribbon on the student-centered initiative on the third floor of Hawthorn Hall on Monday.
“It’s a good place to meet with other team members and a great space for conference calls,” said Miller, a business major who already has his own business, Mr. Miller’s Mobile Detailing.
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The center has two open communal spaces, eight study rooms with technology and whiteboards, a testing room, math and writing centers, and a resource navigator.
Students can also relax in the game room and play ping pong, air hockey or video games.
Construction began last June on the building’s third floor, previously used for storage or for students to meet with professors or advisors.
The transformation is the vision of Professor Cynthia O’Dell, who teaches psychology and women and gender studies. O’Dell led the grant-writing team for the $900,000 center, funded with public and private support.
She said the roots of the Success Center go back to 2016-18, when more than 60 faculty, staff and students began a project to reimagine student needs and the student experience.
Programs began to aid students and ease their college transition and in 2019, an IUN team participated in a Higher Learning Commission Student Success Academy.
Delving into the university’s resources, O’Dell said the group learned there were more than 50 student initiatives.
“But they were scattered all across the campus, so students struggled to find and use the support services that were available to them,” she said.
The new space consolidates the scattered resources and provides gathering spaces so students can meet and study. In addition, tutoring spaces are available along with academic advisors and a spot to have a snack between classes.
New Chancellor Arrick Jackson said the Student Success Center was one of the reasons he found IUN attractive when he visited campus last year.
Jackson also thanked the John W. Anderson Foundation for its funding for the center.
“Their generosity was instrumental in bringing this space to life,” he said.
IU President Pamela Whitten asked students in attendance to stand in front of her as she spoke.
“This is a campus that is so committed to you and making sure that you learn and grow and develop academically, intellectually, socially, and all kinds of ways that prepare you for what’s coming in the world,” she said.
Whitten told students not to hesitate to share what they need.
“I would ask you guys as students to push us,” she said.
Senior English major Nicole Bostic is a staff member on the student literary magazine “Spirits” and a tutor in the writing center.
Bostic, who worked in healthcare for 10 years, said she attended other universities, but IUN is her favorite.
“There is a sense of community here that I have never witnessed,” she said.
She expressed nervousness when the Student Success Center construction began because the writing center had been near the English Department on Hawthorn’s fourth floor.
“Once I started helping out and I saw everything in full swing, I was like, this is actually the most amazing move we could have made.”
She said the center is a big draw for students.
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“The space amplifies the welcoming environment that I feel like we have on our own. But when we’re all together, it’s easier to redirect the student if they need help,” Bostic said.
“There are days that I walk through here when every single study room is filled, and I think that shows the impact that this space is already having,” she said. “I’m really grateful to be part of a community that continues to invest in its students.”
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.