As the Ohio State University at Mansfield (OSU-Mansfield) enters into a new academic year, the 55-year-old campus welcomes various renovations and remodeling, among other changes. The changes will “transform the campus environment, and, in doing so, will significantly and positively alter the student experience on our campus,” according to Dean and Director Stephen Gavazzi.
During the State of the Campus Address held on Tuesday morning, Physical Facilities Superintendent Brian White discussed the various construction and renovations occurring at the Mansfield campus.
Perhaps one of the most anticipated projects is the construction of student housing. The campus currently provides housing through the Molyet Village Apartments, which allot approximately 200 spaces for students. In addition, through a partnership with Ashland University, OSU students can reside in the Ashland College of Nursing Mansfield housing. Chief Student Life and Retention Officer Donna Hight noted that the Molyet Village Apartments filled within the first six weeks of availability, the Ashland housing filled within the first three OSU orientations, and OSU-Mansfield helped fill 15 units at the Concord Square Apartments during July along with several spaces at the Brookwood Way Apartments.
Moreover, Director of Admissions Shari Petersen stated, “Almost 6 percent of our enrollment is from the Cuyahoga area. The Northeast area is really starting to become a significant pool for us, so we’re excited about the new housing.”
On September 6 of this year, University Housing Solutions and Adena Corporation will break ground to construct the new on-campus housing, which will be located on Lex-Springmill. The space is intended to be able to provide an additional 500 beds for students.
Lex-Springmill will see more construction with the Lex-Springmill roadway entrance project. White explained, “Lex-Springmill has become the preferred entrance to campus and sees a large volume of traffic.” The campus is pursuing additional revenue streams for funding as the university currently possesses 45 percent of the needed finances for this $1.5 million project.
The Bromfield Information Commons is currently under construction; White noted that the project has a relatively “tight” $2 million budget. “The final space is going to be very attractive and extremely functional for all of the programs that are going to go on in there,” stated White. The completion estimation is by the end of December.
The Eisenhower cafeteria and kitchen will be renovated in the summer of 2014. This is a $1.1 million shared project with the OSU Dining Services. Some renovations have already occurred in the first floor coffeehouse of Eisenhower to create a casual dining space for that area.
Other projects include a roof replacement for the Eisenhower building, roof repairs for the Schuttera Center and campus bookstore, replacing the culvert bridge between the Campus Recreation Center and the Schuttera Center, replacing the foot bridge that leads from the campus buildings to the Molyet Village Apartments, and replacing the 138,000 volt distribution lines.
Gavazzi borrowed from his academic discipline in Human Development and Family Sciences to discuss the campus’s current and potential status by using a theoretical framework known as the ecological systems approach. Going through each level of the ecosystem (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem) he expressed how those levels apply at the Mansfield campus.
At the microsystem level, Gavazzi explained that he will be partnering with the faculty to contemplate what excellence in teaching means.
Addressing the mesosystem level, Gavazzi stated, “Through some innovative new technologies and telemedicine and some extended partnerships with the Ohio State College of Medicine and College of Nursing, we hope to create a health spot on campus that will soon provide rapid access to resolve the most common problems presented in medical outpatient clinics for students, faculty and staff, and we hope eventually to extend that to the North Central side of the campus as well.”
With the exosystem level, Gavazzi referenced the 640 acres of land at the Mansfield campus and expressed interest in replicating what is seen at Ohio State’s Stone Lab at Lake Erie at the Mansfield campus.
And finally, with the macrosystem level, Gavazzi mentioned that this level represents the large social contexts of the regional campus cluster and Columbus campus administration. Two core issues he wants to focus on are how key funding issues are handled and how the I.T. transition is faring.
Summarizing his analogy, Gavazzi said, “It is clear, I think, that our ecosystem is alive and well.”
