YSU moves 3 centers to Maag Library

The changes will make the three programs more accessible to students.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — The English Language Institute, the Reading and Study Skills Center and the Writing Center at Youngstown State University have all relocated to the lower level of Maag Library, creating a convenient hub for related student services and classes.

The services, which aim to support and educate YSU students, were moved to Maag because of their similarities of purpose, said Charles Singler, YSU interim associate provost.

“The centers were spread all across campus, and they weren’t readily available to students,” he said. “With this new location, students can avail themselves to all options at once.”

Formerly in Tod Hall, the English Language Institute offers noncredit intensive English programs for international students.

The Reading and Study Skills Center, previously in the Beeghly College of Education, provides students assistance in improving reading, organizational, test-taking and study skills.

The Writing Center, formerly in Coffelt Hall, helps students develop their writing abilities in one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Originally an open area for storage, the library’s lower level was redesigned by the facilities department and remodeled by an outside construction company to house the three campus services at a cost of $660,000, Singler said.

“They put up walls and made offices and laboratories for the three units to move into,” he said. “All parties were involved in the design, and the final product should meet the needs of the organizations, at least in the short-term future.”

Enthusiastic about the traffic and opportunities the library setting offers, Lynn Greene, English Language Institute coordinator, said she appreciates the new location.

“Before, our students were isolated, and now they get to mingle a bit with the others,” she said. “The location is so much nicer, and the approach to the new area is warm and welcoming.”

Reading and Study Skills Center coordinator Karen Becker said the new location offers advantages to students and faculty alike.

“The greatest part of this move is that it is putting our part-time faculty in a central space,” she said. “They get to see students they’ve had in the past that they might not necessarily see again, so they develop a history with the students.”

Singler said the previous center locations were relatively small, so it will not be hard to fill their old offices.

“By shifting locations, we made the most efficient usage of the space that we had, and most importantly, nothing was shortchanged,” he said.

The Maag relocation was among several summer improvement projects on campus, including renovations to the pedestrian bridge over Wick Avenue, replacing the gymnasium floor in Beeghly Center, repairing the parking decks on Wick and Lincoln avenues and restoring numerous roofs on campus.

The university is also in the midst of a $1 million restoration/renovation of historic Coffelt Hall.

It will become the new home of the school of graduate studies and research now in Tod Hall.