Penn State Behrend Welcomes Students, Changes
On Friday, Aug. 21, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, welcomed students to campus—some for the first time—and highlighted its newly renovated student facilities.
Penn State Behrend expected to welcome more than 1,100 new students as part of its fall 2009 first-year class. This is on par with last year’s class; the number was controlled to maintain the college’s low student-to-faculty ratio and accommodate the increase in upper-class students who have chosen to complete their four-year Penn State degrees at Penn State Behrend.
This year’s freshmen students represent 24 states, 14 countries and 70 percent of Pennsylvania counties. More than half of these first-year students were in the top 25 percent of their high school classes and 75 percent took honors classes in high school.
Penn State Behrend’s total expected enrollment for fall 2009 is 4,700 students. This likely will be another record total enrollment for the college; enrollment was 4,633 students for the fall 2008 semester, a nearly 5 percent increase compared to the fall 2007 figures.
Renovations Reinforce Student-Centered Approach
New and returning students will benefit from the $1.8 million bookstore renovation project in Reed Union Building, which is nearly complete, and a $100,000 renovation to the college’s Health and Wellness Center, designed to enhance patient privacy and transition to all-digital medical records.
“Reed is the hub of the Penn State Behrend campus,” said Dr. Jack Burke, chancellor. “These improvements are the first step toward making Reed an even more efficient, attractive and valuable resource for the college’s students.”
The phased renovation and construction project revamped Penn State Behrend’s existing 7,500-square-foot bookstore to improve merchandising and visual appeal. The new additions include a separate pick-up window for students who place textbook orders online to better accommodate the high traffic experienced at the beginning of a semester as well as separate customer service and book information stations. The bookstore also features new display windows facing the Reed parking lot along with appropriate fixtures to improve how the store’s clothing, gifts and supplies are exhibited.
The bookstore project’s new construction includes a two-story exterior addition housing a new delivery loading dock—making building deliveries more efficient and less obtrusive to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic—as well as a newly constructed interior second floor, which will be achieved by decking the current bookstore’s two-story space.
The new 5,000-square-foot second floor will house Penn State Behrend’s Academic and Career Planning Center. The center’s suite includes 11 offices, three standard interview rooms and a video interview room since Penn State Behrend students increasingly are being interviewed by companies recruiting at the University Park campus. In addition, a new executive conference room is located at the front of the suite and available for campus use.
The bookstore renovation and construction is complete while the new Academic and Career Planning Center is expected to open in September. Weber Murphy Fox, which also led the design of the $30 million Research and Economic Development Center, planned and designed the project.
“The bookstore project is the first step in transforming Reed into the modern, multi-use student facility of today,” Dr. Ken Miller, director of Student Affairs, said. “The bookstore renovation and second-floor construction translates into a substantial improvement in services for students and staff alike. We’re growing to meet the demands of our students and look forward to being able to provide those services in an atmosphere more conducive to that.”
Future Improvements Underway
Once the Academic and Career Planning Center moves into its new second-floor suite, Penn State Behrend’s Office of Educational Equity and Diversity Programs will assume the center’s former space, one that also currently houses the college’s Personal Counseling office, which will remain in place. Future renovations to this shared space will ensure that students have more privacy when seeking either office’s services.
In addition, the college’s current facilities projects include construction of the new Robert and Sally Metzgar Admissions and Alumni Center, to be completed by fall 2010, and the renovation and expansion of Dobbins Dining Hall, which is also underway.
Future projects, each in their respective planning stages, include renovations to the chemistry labs in Otto Behrend Science Building, further physical improvements in Reed, and construction of a new soccer and track complex.