Utica College to Open Wilcox Center for Students
New Space for Gathering, Meeting, Relaxing, Collaborating
Starting this fall, UC students will have a brand new space to call their own. The Wilcox Center has been completely renovated to offer students space for gathering, meeting, studying or just plain relaxing.
The 3,500-square foot building, formerly the Newman Community Center, features a great room with a fireplace and large flat-screen TV, speakers, a full kitchen, and to top it off, an outdoor patio where students can convene around the ambience of an outdoor gas fireplace. There are a number of individual meeting/study rooms as well.
The building, which has been informally referred to as the intercultural center, will also be home to the Women’s Resource Center, a student organization dedicated to the empowerment of women through education, mutual support and growth. In addition, the building will serve as home base for two members of the College’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) division. Meghan Jordan, DEI program manager, and Anasa Sinegal, DEI communications and community relations coordinator, will have offices in the center.
Todd Pfannenstiel, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, notes that the center is not intercultural strictly in the sense of different nationalities, but a space for all facets of diversity to come together.
“We have many diverse cultures represented here at UC,” Pfannenstiel said. “This is not a center just for Greek or athletic organizations. This is a center where all student groups can have a voice.”
Moving the Women’s Resource Center from the basement of Hubbard Hall to the new facility is a tremendous step forward, according to Jaydy Hernandez ’23.
“We’ll be in a more open area where students can come in anytime they want as well as see what resources and programs the center can provide,” she said. “I am excited to be more connected with students and receive feedback about what students want to see on campus from the Women’s Resource Center.”
For students, having a place on campus where they can all integrate and enjoy time together will be wonderful and something that Katherine Hawley ’23, president of the Gender and Sexuality Alliance on campus, believes can help attract different populations to campus events, helping extend the meaning of diversity in campus engagement.
“Students deserve a physical space to celebrate the diversity on our campus,” Hawley said. “The Wilcox Center will also make on-campus events more accessible to both residential and commuter students, being close to the parking lot and residential quad.”
The $900,000 renovation was completely donor funded. Look for news about a dedication ceremony in September.
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