Rowan College at Burlington County believes that clean, accessible, top-of-the-line facilities can keep students on campus and engaged for success. Whether it be a spacious cafeteria here, a brand-new fitness center there, or dedicated tutoring rooms, our facilities team members constantly have their noses to the grindstone, implementing updates to the college’s areas of study, recreation, and wellness to help Barons reach their full potential.
Sara Lepore is the coordinator of RCBC’s Events, Scheduling, and Mount Holly. Most days, she and Facilities Director James Clang walk around campus, monitoring the landscape for opportunities for new spaces.
“When we see spaces on campus, we kind of think, what if we turn this into something else?” How can this be better? How can we better utilize space, and what can it do to benefit our students?” said Lepore. “I think it makes students enjoy coming to school. Get students here and want to be here; that’s our goal.”
This summer, the college had a swath of to-dos for facilities. One pressing matter was the TEC building. Contrary to its futuristic name, it was set back in time by muted walls and cramped furniture. Now, after a makeover, students enter a building with a fresh and modern paint job, more chairs and tables, and even new colorful posters on the wall that highlight the bold accomplishments of students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, the division that inhabits the building.
“We wanted to brighten it up a little bit, rearrange the furniture to make it a little better workspace for the students,” said Lepore. “The way it was set up before, it’s not ideal for doing homework or things like that. You have a place to actually get work done, and it’s a quiet space over there, too.”
Another upgrade was to lactation rooms. Now, nursing mothers can enjoy privacy in more than just the Student Success Center; new rooms are spread throughout campus—in Laurel Hall, Votta Hall, and the Health Sciences building. They are equipped with soft chairs, paper towels, trash cans, and refrigerators for a comfortable, tidy environment.
Accessibility is a major factor to consider with each new project. Whether it be a large TEC hallway or a small lactation room, it must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a civil rights law that protects those with disabilities from discrimination.
“Everything we do has to be compliant, from walking into a door to setting up a classroom to the spacing between chairs and tables in classrooms,” said Lepore. “We’re always trying to find ways to utilize the space to its best capacity while also making sure we are accessible to everyone in our community.”
The new tutoring centers are an example of adhering to guidelines, providing students ample space to roll on the caster chairs from table to computer to study and learn. With updated locations in Laurel Hall 323 for Writing, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Businesses tutoring and TEC-127 for Math and Sciences tutoring, you don’t have to travel far after class to get help.
“Over the first three weeks of tutoring, we’ve seen a 30% increase in the number of tutoring visits compared to last fall,” said Tutoring Center Manager Tom Kluxen. “We’ve also been able to foster some great new connections with faculty and staff now that we’re located in the classroom buildings.”
In the end, once all of these spaces are incorporated, it’s up to the hard-working facilities staff to maintain a pristine appearance for not just aesthetic purposes but for the health and convenience of our campus community.
“We work all year long,” said Lepore. “When students are not here, we are cleaning vigorously at night. During the day, you’ll see our custodians walking around, checking bathrooms, and straightening up if there’s a spill. Our grounds crew is great; they take care of the lawn, the flowers, and everything and just make it an appealing place. And then our maintenance team is constantly getting work orders for either event setups or just fixing something. Things break all the time, and that’s what we’re here to do: make sure things are working properly.”
This is not an exhaustive list of all the work that’s been put in the past few months. Barry’s Bites, the new Veterans Center, Votta Hall, the Mount Holly campus dining room, and even more have benefitted from some intense TLC. Check out a collection of photographs of the facilities below. Then, see it for yourself in person at our Mount Laurel and Mount Holly campuses!
