students Robert M. Smith Student Center provides new direction
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This building is all about the students. It’s what they wanted. It’s what they needed. I am so proud of the Student Government Association members and their leadership throughout the process. They had a vision, and even though they knew they wouldn’t personally benefit from the building while they were students, they were committed to making sure future students would benefit. That is a real legacy.
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– Robert Smith “The Smith Center creates an open and inviting feel for students, staff and faculty to come together and accomplish common goals,” said Chelsea Nugent, a marketing and finance major from Wexford. “The professional setting on the third floor gives the University the option of offering more professional meetings and conferences. The center is a great addition to all the changes that the University has undergone over the past few years.” The 106,869-square-foot building includes a rain runoff system and a specialized parking lot to prevent snow accumulation. Plentiful windows for natural daylight, wide stairways and high ceilings emphasize architectural interconnectivity. The fireplace and commuter lounges surrounding the atrium are available as study spaces. Several computer surf stations throughout the building and wireless access enable students to do personal computing. “It offers a wow factor for students in many ways,” Cole said. “They walk in the front door and immediately feel as if they’re in the hub of the campus. It is designed to be the central meeting place of the campus. So students walking in that building sense immediately that this is a place that ‘whatever I need to do I can
take care of’ – anything from shopping to eating, and banking to studying. The way the building is laid out, each floor has a different zone.” The first floor is the retail zone that includes grab-and-go retail, the new SGA Bookstore, a Starbucks, electronic technology center, PNC Bank, Information Desk and administrative offices. “The entrance floor is the jump-in-and-take-care-of business floor,” Cole said. The second floor is designed as a student living room where students sit and stay awhile. It offers a food court, a Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant, a fireplace lounge and a commuter kitchenette with lockers. Student organizations, the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, Office of Multicultural Development and the Women’s Center are located on this floor. The third floor includes meeting and conference rooms, a ballroom for banquets and a movie theatre providing “a full movie theatre experience,” Cole said. A surround sound stereo system and Blu-Ray technology complement the big video screen. The individual accordion seats are attached to rigging like in Morrow www.SRU.edu
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