New Facility to Serve As "One-Stop Shop" for Students

By Paul Mueller I May 2, 2005

This model of the new Student Services Facility shows the generous courtyard it will feature.

Where young Marines once sharpened their rifle skills, UCSD students will soon find services to help them improve their academic performance. Ground was broken on Monday, April 25, for the new Student Academic Services Facility, which will replace the World War II-era barracks now nestled among the eucalyptus and palm trees of central campus.

Serving as master of ceremonies for the groundbreaking, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Edward Spriggs thanked all those involved in planning and designing the facility, and said the project "puts some pressure on architect Rob Quigley to construct a center as important and impressive as the RIMAC, Price Center, and other campus buildings." The facility's purpose, he said, is to serve students both present and future, and he noted the presence of Preuss School students in the crowd of UCSD students, faculty and staff attending the ceremony. "It will likely be the first building they enter as they begin their academic careers at UCSD," he said.

Chancellor Fox said the facility would be a "one-stop shop" for most students needs and reinforce the university's goal of "creating a better environment for students in the heart of the campus - a transforming model for student life that will both inspire and strengthen cohesion." The new Student Academic Services Facility, she said, would be "a warm and welcoming place" that UCSD has long envisioned as a resource for students and student affairs.

Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for student affairs, speaks at the groundbreaking for the new Student Services Facility on central campus.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Joseph Watson reminded the crowd that the former Camp Matthews barracks once welcomed young soldiers and said that the new facility would continue to welcome young people - "but now for more peaceful purposes." The handsome and highly functional complex, he said, "will be a gateway to UCSD for students and visitors," and should help all those it serves "to excel in the collaboration, coordination and innovation that have always characterized UCSD."

Jenn Pae and Christopher Sweeten, president and president-elect of the Associated Students, respectively, both welcomed the sense of community the new facility would encourage. "The breath of student life will always be here," said Pae.

The chancellor then turned over a healthy shovelful of soil, and the sun-dappled lot which once rang with the marching chants of Marines was filled with the applause of students, faculty and staff.

A good noontime crowd of faculty, students and staff heard Edward Spriggs, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, introduce Chancellor Fox and other speakers at the groundbreaking.

When it's completed in 2007, the 102,000-square-foot, five-story structure will provide convenient access to services such as financial aid, registration, admissions, campus tours and similar student-related programs. The facility also includes a 300-seat multipurpose room for information sessions and two restaurants to serve both visitors and the campus community.

The structure was designed by renowned San Diego architect Rob Quigley, who also has designed the future San Diego Main Library and a number of other award-winning buildings. The L-shaped building is anchored by a courtyard that serves as an outdoor lobby into Matthews Quad, preserved as open space in the center of campus. Designed as "background" architecture, the building is intended to enhance, define and connect the three major campus quads adjacent to the site. Ground-floor retail is planned both as a convenience to students and to enliven the public open spaces.

Departments to be housed in the facility include Admissions, Office of the Registrar, Financial Aid, Student Accounts and University Billing Services, Central Cashier, Office of Graduate Studies and Research, Student Legal Services, Student Policies and Judicial Affairs, the Student Safety Awareness and Sexual Assault Resource Center, Student Research and Information, Student Affairs Resource Analysis and a retail space for Imprints.