The UConn Health Center is taking a parking lot on the academic side of the main building and reserving its 94 spaces exclusively for students.
It’s part of an effort this semester to enhance the student experience on campus, along with a new student lounge and bookstore.
“As we worked with students to discuss how to improve their day-to-day experience, parking was a top priority,” says Health Center Chief Administrative Officer Carolle Andrews.
Lot K on the academic side of the main building will require a student ID badge to bypass the gate starting Monday, Oct. 3.
“On any given day it should handle most of the student parking needs,” says Assistant Police Chief Ray Bouchard.
“The need for student parking is highly important to students, who have been more vocal about this issue than almost any other in my experience at the Health Center,” says Sean Ghassem-Zadeh, second-year dental student and president of the Medical/Dental Student Government. “Having a place to park will allow more students to come on time or come at all, because as it stands the parking spot scarcity discourages class attendance.”
Students already are seeing the other differences. The UConn Co-op Health Center Bookstore closed for three business days earlier this month to vacate its space on the ground floor and relocate to newly renovated space one floor above. The Co-op is operating out of a portion of its new area, with the space expected to be complete and fully functional by mid/late-October.
“Rather than being tucked around a corner off the beaten path, the UConn Co-op Health Center Bookstore now is in the middle of the academic area on the main floor, right up the stairs off the academic lobby,” says Dirk Fecho, Co-op division manager. “This enhances our academic mission to support the efforts of the UConn Health Center. Our vision has been an open look so that one can see directly into the store through the large glass store front, with the eye being drawn to the book and clothing wall in the back, surrounded by windows and natural light, which is something we didn’t have in the old store.”
The bookstore’s former location, on the ground floor, is now part of a new student lounge: a 2,000 square-foot area that when complete by the end of October will feature big-screen televisions, a computer area, gaming tables such as ping pong, pool and air hockey, and a furnished kitchen area with solid surface counter tops, refrigerators, and microwave ovens.
“The lounge has been in need of renovation and improvement for a number of years,” Andrews says. “The new lounge is twice the size of the old one, and students from all three of our schools will use it, which we believe will create a greater sense of community.”
“I am optimistic that once the student lounge opens completely that it will serve its original purpose: to be a place where students can gather, relax, eat food, and enjoy themselves in the limited time that they have in a warm and positive environment,” Ghassem-Zadeh says.
The relocation of the bookstore and expansion of the lounge would not have been possible without the cooperation of students, staff and faculty, including the Department of Neurology, whose faculty and staff agreed to relocate their academic offices to accommodate the bookstore move.
“This demonstrates our wonderful collaborative relationship of faculty, staff and students,” says Dr. Suzanne Rose, senior associate dean for education. “Everyone listens, tries to find solutions, and we all try for an environment that supports well-being and good spirit.”
“Students are patient,” Ghassem-Zadeh says. “They understand some issues take time to resolve. Students understand the Health Center is undergoing a lot of changes, both structurally and otherwise, and they are aware that things will likely end up for the better.”
Follow the UConn Health Center on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
