Renovated Shriver Will Make Student Services More Accessible In 2017

BY BLAIR DONOVAN
Miami University journalism student

Step aside, Armstrong Student Center. Shriver Center is getting a makeover.

With renovation scheduled to finish in spring or summer 2017, Miami University's former student center will celebrate its 60th birthday by welcoming the Rinella Learning Center, the Student Package Center, Disability Services, and the Admissions Visitor Center. The bookstore will also expand and convert to a digital system.

The building, constructed in 1957, will assume a new identity when its $20 million upgrade is completed next year.

"We want a better experience," said David Creamer, senior vice president of finance and business services. "There's advantages to being on the perimeter of campus. Anywhere you want to go on campus, you have to walk, but Shriver is in the center and you can walk anywhere on campus you want from there."

According to the former director of the Shriver Center, Marijo Nootz, Shriver met student needs when it was first built. As time went on, however, the building at the corner of Patterson and Spring streets couldn't keep up, Nootz said. She started pushing for a more viable student center as far back as 1996. Shriver didn’t have enough lounge space or meeting rooms to fully function as a student center, she said.

Nootz is convinced the renovations will revitalize the building.

“With the Rinella Learning Center on the third floor, that will bring students in and out of the building,” she said. “With admissions on the first floor, that will bring potential students in, and then disability services (also on the third floor) is going in. Those three will bring a lot to the building and that’s what I like to see.”

'Intelligent' package pick-up

The Package Center will likewise be a draw.

Anita Byrd, manager of the university mail services, said the package pickup process will change once moved to Shriver. Instead of requiring students to pick up packages during limited hours at Wells Hall, Shriver will implement an intelligent parcel locker system for package retrieval. When students have a package, they will get a text or email with a PIN code for a specific locker, which holds their package. Students will enter the PIN in a kiosk and the corresponding locker will automatically open.

“Student package shipments to Miami continue to grow at a double digit pace,” Byrd said in an email interview. “Intelligent parcel lockers will allow Miami to handle this volume for years to come while improving the student experience.”

The package center in Shriver will still have postal services and a pick-up window for extra large perishable items. But the parcel locker system will shorten waiting times and lines and allow for 24/7 package pick-up. Byrd said the package center wanted to move to Shriver because of its central location.

Admissions office likes location

Shriver’s location on campus also contributed to the admissions office's decision to move its visitor center. Susan Schaurer, assistant vice president for enrollment management and director of admission, said the university and Shriver architects identified several offices with potential to move into Shriver, and chose the visitor center as one of them.

The current visitors center in the Campus Avenue Building cannot accommodate all its visiting students and families some days, Schaurer said. Shriver's new 275-seat tiered auditorium will be larger than the current CAB 150-seat auditorium. The new visitor center, to be located in the former first-floor cafeteria space, will also allow for a larger waiting area for guests and for display of Miami artifacts.

'Visitors in mind'

Schaurer thinks the increased capacity will increase the number of potential students who visit Miami and provide a positive representation of the university while being in the heart of campus.

“We got to design the space with visitors in mind,” Schaurer said. “It really will allow us to highlight the Miami experience to students and families. There’s a direct correlation to the number of visitors and the number of applications. When students visit, they fall in love.”

She also thinks moving into the same building as the bookstore will encourage more visitors to buy Miami spirit wear.

While the visitors center changes its address, the Admissions Office staff will stay put on the third floor of the CAB building. University Communications and Marketing staff will also move to offices in the CAB building.

Digital bookstore

Shriver will still have a physical bookstore, but without the stacks of textbooks. Starting next school year, students will be able to buy their textbooks digitally directly through Bannerweb from a vendor called e-Campus, according to Creamer. They can still pick up their book orders at Shriver, or have them sent to off-campus or permanent addresses at no charge. Creamer said the deliveries will occur in about 24 hours.

"The reasons for moving in this direction is that many students are already using online providers," said Creamer. "Course materials provided through e-Campus are expected to be 15-25 percent less expensive than the price offered in the past in the Shriver bookstore.

The bookstore will still sell supplies, electronics and clothing. It will also have a coffee counter, with a small convenience store elsewhere in the building.

Photo: At age 60, Shriver Center is getting a new look and new tenants. --Photo by Blair Donovan