Touch Base Tuesday 11-27-18

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Dear Faculty and Staff:

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. There is little to report in this update since we only had two days of classes last week. However, I would like to share with you some information related to the relocation of the bookstore to the Student Center.

A taskforce has been meeting weekly to discuss the remodel of space in the Student Center to accommodate the bookstore, food services, and Starbucks coffee service. The original plan was to try to “fit” the bookstore into the current space allocated for food service/dining. Here is the original drawing of that first plan. (In this plan, the Private Dining Room would move upstairs to the space previously occupied by Workforce Development.)

ttb11-28-18

When we met as a group to review this plan, concerns were expressed about the flow of traffic and the fact that we were not achieving the modern, state-of-the-art bookstore and dining experience we wanted for our students. Trying to fit the bookstore into this existing space results in a somewhat awkward floorplan. Due to limited space, this design also limits our vision for growing conference services, one of our strategies for generating additional revenue.

After much discussion, we realized that we did not want to miss an opportunity to create something very special and long-term for our bookstore & food service operation. We also recognized that we had a chance to address concerns received in the past regarding the current location of our Assessment Center and Disability Support Services department, and the desire to create more of a “one-stop” approach to student services in the Administration Building. As such, we are considering the following possible moves:

• Assessment and Disability Support Services to the Administration Building in the space currently occupied by Network Computing Services.
• Network Computing to the vacated Workforce Development suite in the Student Center.
• Bookstore and Starbucks to the current space allocated for Assessment and Disability Support Services.

Based on these possible proposed changes, the new design of our Bookstore and Food Services would be similar to the drawing below (actual design has not been finalized):

ttb11-28-18B

Our goal is to create a more contemporary dining service that allows for smooth traffic flow from the serving line to the seating area. The serving area has been reduced to allow more space for seating, and walls have been removed for an open floorplan. The Private Dining Room will be expanded slightly with a new reception area designed to be closed off for receptions or opened up for additional seating as an extension of the dining hall. The Bookstore and Starbucks will be adjacent to food service, with additional space allocated for the expansion of our Conference Services program. We are also looking at adding self-service kiosks at the entrance of food services.

Finally, part of this project will include the development of a new and healthier food menu. We will be collecting feedback from students and employees to help us with this endeavor.

We are in the very early stages of mapping out a floorplan. The formal design stage will begin with the selection of an architectural firm, hopefully by the end of the year. As a reminder, this project is being funded by a grant we received from the state and by our Auxiliary reserve account.

If you have questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail or give me a call. I am very excited about this project and the enhanced services and environment we will be able to provide for our students.

Have a great rest of week.

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4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive
Cofttleville, MO 63376

info_desk@stchas.edu
636-922-8000

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