There are many rumors spreading around Bryant about the Bryant Center closing for construction. Her Campus decided to put the speculation to rest, so we went right to the source of information – Associate Director for Campus Engagement Richard Hurley. Here’s the scoop:
Not all parts of the Bryant Center will be closing at the same time. In fact, on May 3rd the Campus Engagement staff on the third floor will be moving to the AMICA center, so their services will still be available throughout the summer. Also, May 3rd is The Scoop and the Information Center’s last day of operation. The rest of the Bryant Center will have its last day on May 5th. At this time, there will be no open hours for the Bryant Center, meaning no students will be able to go inside the Bryant Center after May 5th.
Although the closings seem to have inconvenient timing, they are necessary to keep the construction on schedule. As of now, construction of the Bryant Center will end around September 9th and the building will be officially opened to everyone September 27th. This only gives the Campus Engagement staff, the vendors, and the departments located in the building two business weeks to get the whole building up and running! However, Rich Hurley is confident saying, “We’re going to make it work… we have an amazing staff that is so dedicated to bringing true service to the community”. Already, construction won’t be done before we come back in the fall, and closing May 5th will help keep the opening as early as possible. Because the commencement tent will be going up May 10th, trucks and other necessary vehicles won’t be able to get to the Bryant Center after this date – so everything has to be moved out before then. If the Bryant Center wasn’t to have its last day on the 5th that means some areas wouldn’t be able to move until after commencement, which could have an impact on our fall schedule. Moving out earlier also allows the Campus Engagement staff a very small amount of time to get their temporary spaces ready to run programs like Commencement and Orientation. All in all, we must understand the implications of pushing back the closing of the Bryant Center. As we all know, the new Bryant Center will be worth the early closing!
Still a few questions remain. A major concern is: where to study for finals now that the Bryant Center is not an option? Her Campus has come up with some unlikely places to study that you may not have thought of: 1) the classroom inside of Koffler, 2) the classroom in the downstairs of the Unistructure – walk as if going to the study abroad office, but at the end of the stairs go through the doors on your right, 3) the seating area outside Faculty Suite F – near the Post Office, and 4) the seminar rooms in the library – there is one upstairs and one downstairs past the color printer.
Another concern was: what is happening to the mailboxes in the Bryant Center? The mailboxes will actually be moved to the first floor of the Koffler building where Laptop Central is, and Laptop Central is getting moved to its own space in Bello which will be constructed over the summer. Overall, a lot of exciting construction is happening at Bryant and we can’t wait to see the results in the fall!