Historique de la page

h3. Name of concept: Strengthening the Core: The Wallace Center at RIT


h3. Overview

University libraries and learning centers are   undergoing dramatic  change \-\- altering the experiences and aspirations of   students and  faculty.   Key   drivers behind this change  include:
*  Technology and   interactive media are  shaping how students learn and how scholars access   research and  disseminate findings.  
* Collaborative,  team work and presentation skills   are essential competencies for  college graduates.  Space and assisted learning are  required to develop these   skills.
* The librarian's  role has shifted from the expert   behind the desk to a partner by your  side.  Desk areas are slimming down or    disappearing.
* In order to attract and retain new    students, libraries and learning spaces must meet student needs and    expectations.
* While The Wallace Center is not used  in   the same ways as it was 15 or 20 years ago, the building remains  highly   utilized. The 3,000 students who come into the building daily  are spending,   on average, 2.8 hours here, and a recent nationwide  study showed faculty   rated their dependence on the library higher in  2009 than in 2006. University   libraries are now perceived as more than  just a building for books-students   rely on the library to serve their  high tech demands in a space that invites   collaboration and  socialization and faculty look to the library for teaching,   research,  and scholarship support.

Studies show   prospective  students select a college, in part, on its facilities. One study    revealed the second most important facility to prospective students is  the   library. In addition to recruitment, the library contributes to  student   retention, as well as to faculty success.
* An   educational building is an expensive,  long-term asset.  Design of our library and learning    spaces must be a representation of RITís vision and strategy for    learning-responsive, inclusive, and supportive for all.  Our  full proposal for a complete   renovation to the current facility is  based on extensive research and student   and faculty input, summarized  at [http://library.rit.edu/future|http://library.rit.edu/future]

It    includes:
# A comprehensive building  redesign, including a writing studio,   collaborative study areas,  dynamic and interactive exhibition environments,   and centralized  access to experts in the academic disciplines.
# The inclusion of LEED-certified   sustainability features into  the building that will inspire visitors, provide   a healthy learning  environment, and enhance student well-being.
# A focus on the growing   world-class collection of special  materials that differentiates RIT from   every other university, and  enhances our global reputation for   scholarship.
# A town-hall-style stage with full broadcast-quality   technology  support, that will also serve as an intimate performance    space.
# Extraordinary support for  faculty to conduct and disseminate research,   ranging from guidance on  self-publishing to full, peer-reviewed University   Press  publication.

Though this exciting re-imagination of    RIT's most centrally located intellectual asset is intended to resolve  the   functional problems of the current facility, it also presents RIT  with an   opportunity to add some dynamic new architectural elements to  the campus. For   example:
# A  soaring, arched glass arcade between the Wallace building and the    College of Liberal Arts might create a dynamic new gathering space  between   the facades of the two buildings that both honors and elevates  the original   architectural vision for the  campus.
# Similarly, a   dramatic new entrance at  the south end of the building will appeal to   visitors to what is now  the blandest side of campus, as well as acknowledge   the needs of a  substantial user population. In keeping with The Wallace   Center's  transformational objectives for itself, this new entrance might    incorporate such features as:\* an indoor sculpture   garden populated with Albert Paley pieces  (supporting our commitment to   developing unique special collections),   

* b) a living, green wall  (supporting our commitment to sustainability),   and
* c) a town hall stage with broadcast capabilities and seating for  80 to   100 people (supporting our commitment to multi-functioned  performance and   information spaces). # RIT  Library has a long history of   supporting student exhibitions in Fine  and Applied Arts and Photography.   A natural extension of  this   program could showcase student work not from all of the diverse  programs offered   at RIT.  Dynamic, interactive   displays  would not be limited to a physical piece of artwork or photography,    but would showcase films, animations and other multimedia projects as  well as   engineering and scientific exhibits.  The  excitement and creativity of the "Imagine RIT" festival   would be  captured every day.

h3. How this idea leverages current areas of RIT expertise

The recent merger of the RIT Libraries and Teaching and Learning Services created a centralized and effective mix of resources and expertise for students and faculty. The Wallace Center is integral to the core academic functions of the university: innovative delivery of high quality information, effective course design and assessment, research and scholarly communication, to name just a few. Every college, every discipline, every faculty member, and every student benefits from a relationship with The Wallace Center. During quarters 20082 to 20092, for example, 89% of RIT faculty used the technology services available at The Wallace Center. Reinventing the space within which such highly valued assets are housed will elevate RITís stature with prospective students and faculty and will positively influence the experience they have at RIT.

h3. Main RIT on-campus champion(s) for this idea

While this proposal is formally championed by The Wallace Center, the primary voices for change have come from an extensive and objective survey of RIT students, faculty, and staff . They have acknowledged the importance of The Wallace Center in their academic lives and praised the quality of resources available. Students and faculty have also emphatically stressed the need for a comprehensive renovation that makes this building, along with its many resources, a state-of-the-art facility better suited to their evolving needs ([http://library.rit.edu/future).|http://library.rit.edu/future). &nbsp]For example, students reported a need for more personal study areas, better spaces for groups to work, and flexible seating arrangements to support collaboration, such as circular tables that make it easier for deaf students to communicate. Students report needing more group study rooms, complete with white boards, where they can practice presentations. Students overwhelmingly requested upgraded support for technology such as more outlets, docking stations for laptops, and improved workstations. Faculty stressed their desire for more learning laboratories and functional spaces to collaborate with the expert staff in The Wallace Center. Faculty requested creation of a "Center for Faculty Innovation," where they can present their latest research and connections can be made across disciplines.

h3. Additional on-campus champions

Jeremy Haefner, Sr. VP for Academic Affairs and RIT Provost

Andrew Moore, Dean of Graduate Studies

Donald Boyd, VP for Research

Leadership of All Colleges at RIT

h3. Is there potential off-campus advocacy and support for the idea?

Yes.

h3. How you envision this idea advancing RIT's national or global stature in an important or emerging field

As RIT continues to shift from a comprehensive   undergraduate and  career-oriented university to one with greater emphasis on   research  and scholarship, its most important knowledge repository-The Wallace    Center-requires a significant overhaul. The reconfiguration of staffing    through the recent merger has strengthened our ability to support  student and   faculty success, but the building itself presents a  considerable   barrier.   Built over 40   years ago and  last renovated 20 years ago, Wallace Library was designed as a    traditional library, its primary function to house growing printed    collections and provide study space to utilize those collections.  The inflexible floor layout has fixed   study cubicles and  cramped group study spaces designed for traditional   reading and  writing, not for collaboration and preparation of multimedia    presentations that are the norm for today's students.  It  cannot support the technology use   students demand, it looks tired and  worn to prospective student families, and   its considerable square  footage cannot be maximized for changing needs   because current  structures are not flexible.

With   unparalleled  programs in imaging arts and sciences, gaming, and applied   sciences,  as well as developing programs in nano-technology, sustainability,    architecture, and health services training, RIT is continuing on a path  to   global leadership. That leadership is only made possible by  providing our   university community with:
* A discipline-neutral and universally welcoming   place to engage  in communal and collaborative learning
* Exceptional  collection   resources
* State-of-the-art  information, teaching, and collaboration   technologies
* A variety of student and faculty-configurable study spaces
* Extraordinary exhibition and display  areas
* Research assistance and   publication  services
* A sense of belonging and  inspiration so strong   and pervasive that all of RIT's diverse citizens  are drawn to   it
* No single investment RIT makes in  its future can touch   so many students and faculty.

h3. Why you believe RIT has a unique opportunity or an ability to differentiate itself through this idea

RIT is often described as a "Category of One" university. It is a recognized leader in a number of academic disciplines. Its library and its teaching and learning services have a reputation among other academic institutions for resourcefulness, innovation, unique special collections, and extraordinary partnership with students and faculty. However, a history of inadequate funding and an ageing building are degrading our ability to support effective student learning, as well as to forward RITís ambitions for global leadership. <br><br>As an energized and newly configured organization at an institution committed to change, The Wallace Center can no longer afford to apply incremental, reactive solutions to pervasive problems, which have at the root one issue: an institution as student-centered, technically progressive, and academically demanding as RIT cannot afford to have an inferior and inadequate space for students. This is especially true when that space is centrally important to attracting and retaining students and to the sustained academic success of the entire university. The Wallace Center is the physical and symbolic heart and intellectual nexus of RIT.

RIT is poised on the brink of an even more promising future. A renovated Wallace Center is vital to realizing the potential of that future.

{rate}

{version-history}
| |