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Classroom Building Renovation Near Completion Renovations on classroom buildings Hunter Hall and Harris Hall are nearing completion, and are projected to be ready for the opening of the fall semester. Hunter Hall has also gained a new name – the classroom building is being renamed for Margaret Craig Martin, ’30, who served Meredith in many roles including faculty member, trustee and director of the alumnae association. Martin, who now lives near Winston-Salem, was also a member of the committee that was instrumental in the building of the Mae Grimmer Alumnae House. Martin Hall will house the departments of human environmental sciences and foreign languages and literatures. The renovated building now features four general classrooms on the first floor, as well as a food nutrition lab. The second floor contains one general classroom, a fashion studio, two interior design studios, one child development lab and one CAD studio that will be open to all design students. Deborah Tippett, head of the Department of Human Environmental Sciences, said, “Students will have improved learning and teaching environments in all the majors of human environmental sciences.” Tippett noted that the interior design and fashion design studios have doubled in size and there will be increased display areas for student work. The building will also include a temperature-controlled room for providing storage of the dresses for the fashion design program. The renovations will provide centralized office and teaching space for the department of foreign languages and literatures. “For the first time we will have all of the faculty in our department in one building, which will certainly make our lives easier,” said Mary Thomas, head of the department of foreign languages and literatures. Harris Hall has also been renovated, providing a new space for the Department of Communication. The School of Business will remain in Harris Hall. According to Carla Ross, head of the Department of Communication, the building will provide convenience for communication students and faculty. “Since we have been the ‘department lost in space’, it feels great to finally have a place to call home,” Ross said. “We are looking forward to the unity of having all our offices together and available classrooms with high-tech equipment close by. After being scattered across campus and carting around the necessary equipment, we are very appreciative of the convenience that (the building) will afford us.” Garry Walton, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences said, “We are really excited about the new communication space in Harris, including two dedicated classrooms that will be equipped with that program in mind.” Walton notes that Harris Hall will include “new space for archiving video of newscasts saved by (Assistant Professor of Communication) Doug Spero, a room for oral presentations equipped with a permanently mounted video camera, new offices for the faculty and a department head’s suite.” Open house celebrations are being planned for both buildings this fall. President Hartford Assesses the State of Meredith College, Announces Priorities for 2004-05
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Belk Dining Hall Gets a Facelift Belk Dining Hall, which underwent changes from July 24 - August 8, opened for the fall semester with a facelift. The gray muted wallpaper in the dining areas was painted a soft yellow. Thad O’Briant, head of food services, said, “The new yellow wall color will work well with all holiday seasons and the catering services.” In addition all new tables and chairs replaced the existing ones from the 1950s. The new round tables and chairs will seat four to eight people. Bar tables and stools were placed in front of every window on the East/Faircloth side of the dining hall. All of the bar tables have a droplight shining directly on them. An arched bar has been added to the center of the east side dining food to divide it into sections. However, the West/Stringfield side of the dining hall remained relatively the same due to catering needs. Aramark, a food distributor company that works with Meredith, created a program called RFOC (Real Food On Campus). The program implements action at each food station. This means that something or someone will have to be doing something continually at each food station. For example the new bakery dessert station has an oven that will bake fresh cookies every few minutes, the salad bar will have someone ready to chop tomatoes if they run out—every station has action taking place. A new grill was added to increase the different types of food that can be made. In addition, a few menu changes have taken take place. O’Briant notes, “Breakfast will no longer be just eggs, sausage, bacon and grits every morning. We will have that some, but on the new grill we are going to make French toast and omelets.” O’Briant says, “All of the changes are what students have told us that they want. We practiced some of the new techniques with Governor’s School this summer to find out what was liked and what was not. We really got a positive response on the menu changes.” “Where in the World” Have Meredith Study Abroad Students Been?
The Office of Study Abroad, officially titled the Office of International Studies, is directed by Betty Webb, director of international studies/study abroad and professor of English. Webb directs study abroad part-time and teaches English and advises English majors who are seeking their secondary licensure part-time. Sarah Milani, assistant director of study abroad, dedicates half her time to international students and half her time to study abroad. Tracy Knight, department assistant and the office’s only full-time employee, helps the office run smoothly thanks to her thoroughness and attention to detail, said Webb. The office also has the support of student workers. According to Webb, the Office of Study Abroad is responsible for coordinating and overseeing all Meredith Study Abroad programs, including programs during the academic year and in the summer. They recruit and advise students interested in study abroad and talk with the students’ parents when necessary. Concern for student safety is a top priority and always has been, and this is especially true in light of recent world events, Webb said. She and the Office of Study Abroad staff take this responsibility seriously and work with “monitoring, minimizing and responding to anything threatening” to the students’ well-being. In addition to serving study abroad students, the office offers visa processing for international students, and they work toward faculty development, explains Webb. She says that faculty may go on study abroad programs in the summer and that the office has enabled faculty to spend time outside the country as program directors in places such as Belize, China, Denmark, Paris, Spain and Mongolia. Webb began her work with study abroad by leading a group of students on study abroad as a 30-year-old Meredith faculty member, and she first directed Meredith’s study abroad program at the age of 32. Webb loves study abroad for the “heightened learning atmosphere” it provides. She adds that this “living, learning community” often includes stimulating discussions during meal times and during travel time such as aboard the tube, London’s public transportation system. Meredith’s study abroad program has changed in the last few years, according to Webb. She is amazed by how it has grown in the number of students participating and in “the growth of venues, especially non-western European sites.” She is pleased that the North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarship package at Meredith now requires recipients to study abroad. Beginning with the class of 2007, Meredith Teaching Fellows’ scholarship packages cover one required study abroad experience for each Fellow, according to Alynna Stone, director of the Meredith Teaching Fellows program. Webb adds that “it is wonderful to have administrative support” of study abroad. She says that 12 percent of graduates have studied abroad, and Meredith’s goal is to have 20-25 percent of students study abroad. Students who choose to study abroad will join the ranks of Meredith study abroad alumnae who own a t-shirt that reads, “Ask me where in the world I have been.”
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In a recent address to faculty and staff, President Maureen Hartford reported on the state of Meredith College and outlined the campus-wide priorities for 2004-05.
“Ask me where in the world I am going” is the logo on a t-shirt given to Meredith College students who have signed up for the Meredith College study abroad program.