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THE
Clarion Call CLARION UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1913
FEBRUARY 14, 2013
VOL. 99 ED. 14
Town hall meeting unveils university plans Jen Schwartz STAFF WRITER
CLARION, Pa. - Clarion
University President Karen Whitney hosted “Building the Future Clarion University Campus” Tuesday, Feb. 12 to discuss a new housing plan to better serve the borough and campus as a whole. The informal town hall meeting started at 6:30 p.m. in the banquet room of the American Legion on Main Street, where Whitney introduced the university’s Facilities Master Plan project being overseen and designed by international planning, design and consulting firm, Perkins Eastman. “We got everybody here; we got the community here, and that means so much to me, because we know everybody here cares about Clarion and wants to see it grow,” Whitney said. The Facilities Master Plan, or FMP, is a $58 million project that will incorporate two new buildings on Main Street that will not only accommodate student housing, but will also feature a new bookstore, Starbucks, theater, food services and meeting rooms.
Contributed
Consulting firm Perkins Eastman develops architectural rendering of new proposed student housing along Main Street Clarion, Pa. The project is predicted to be a 16-18 month construction period employing more than 170 workers. According to the plan, before these new buildings can go up, the older dorm buildings, Nair and Wilkinson, must be torn down and paved for parking use. “Nair and Wilk don’t do it for 16- and 17-yearolds,” said Whitney, who stated market data proves
the university has lost enrollments due to lack of contemporary housing for incoming freshman. Although the new buildings will be replacing Nair and Wilkinson, they will actually accommodate 40 fewer occupants than the original buildings. The replacement is not to increase the quantity of rooms, but rather the quality and overall living
experience offered to CU students. “My no. 1 goal as president is to increase enrollment,” said Whitney, who further explained that enrollment is less than 4,200, with a little more than 700 employees. “It’s job no. 1.” Considering that 89 percent of incoming freshman were surveyed stating they hold housing to be “very important” to
“somewhat important,” Whitney said she believes renovating living standards and offering more contemporary housing will be a possible solution in increasing enrollment. “Edinboro, Slippery Rock and California have all refreshed projects like this even more aggressively,” said Whitney. “This is a common formula. We really can create this seamless college
Financial aid, student account offices to combine Rachel Farkas STAFF WRITER
CLARION, Pa. - The university is in the process of restructuring the financial aid and student accounts offices into one “progressive, student centered” office, said Ragan Griffin, acting director of student financial services. The university announced the creation of the Student Financial Services Office in early October 2012. “This initiative will streamline the entire aid and billing processes for students starting from financial planning for college for high school students and understanding the financial resources available to the FAFSA through the awarding of financial aid, student payment plans and ultimately the payment of student invoices,” Griffin said. For now, Financial Aid is still located in 104 Egbert, and Student Accounts remains in B-16 Carrier. However, administrators are reviewing various options to see where they can designate enough space for the new combined office. Ultimately, the Student Financial Services office
Kelsey Waros / The Clarion Call
The Office of Financial Aid is housed in Egbert Hall. will end up in the One Stop Service Center at Becht Hall once renovations on the building are complete. Griffin said the campus and community will increasingly see the integration of the two offices into one through the spring semester and into the summer. The Student Financial Services office will administrate federal and state aid programs, veterans’ benefits, and handle billing and collections for students. Griffin said the newly created Student Financial Services office strives to provide one point of
contact for students, decreasing the amount of transferred phone calls and walking from one office to another. “We know that parents and students want answers about paying the bill and receiving financial aid and don’t want to be shuttled from one office to another to have questions answered,” Griffin said. “The processes are closely linked to the other, so bringing them together makes sense.” The university made a commitment to provide better customer service to students in regards to applying
for aid, receiving additional assistance and paying their bills, Griffin said. “The newly integrated SFS staff have begun training on common topics and will continue with significant training in order to accomplish this goal,” she said. While the two offices work to combine forces, the university is performing a national search for a director of Student Financial Services to replace Ken Grugel, former director of financial aid. The university is also studying national models to aid in the transition.
THIS WEEK’S EDITION
Inside
INDEX
Students open Model U.N. club at university. FEATURES PAGE 5
A review of the Grammys. ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 8
Clarion basketball team gives back. SPORTS PAGE 10
News Opinion Features Classifieds Puzzles & Comics Arts & Entertainment Sports Standings
2 4 5 7 7 8 10 11
town experience easily, even better than other schools have.” In order to do this, it is important that the new additions to Main Street do not negatively affect the shops and retailers that are already set up on Main Street, and do not duplicate what is already there. Some suggestions that were intended to encourage visitors and students alike to venture farther down Main Street include placing a kiosk in front of the new Starbucks that will show what else the town has to offer and how to get around, as well as incorporating a spending method in which students can use Eagle Dollars to eat at places such as 6th and Main or Sage Meadow. “Every university has a street. Main Street is ours. We have to develop it in ways that have meaning to 17-to-25-yearolds,” said Whitney. “I believe Clarion is a college town … We want to honor what the larger community hopes to get from its University.” See page 3 for more architectural plans and photos about the proposed new housing project.