inPractice - Fall 2016 - 9

1 EVERYONE IN THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY IS A LEARNER - STUDENT, FACULTY OR STAFF. 2 EVERY SPACE IS A LEARNING SPACE. 3 EMPHASIS IS PLACED ON THE PROCESS OF LEARNING, NOT JUST THE END PRODUCT. 4 THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ARE SHARED IN A CREATIVE, INQUISITIVE MANNER. 5 QUESTIONS ARE ASKED TO ENCOURAGE FURTHER INQUIRY. 6 FACULTY, STAFF AND COLLEGE LEADERS ARE ALL JOINTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR LEARNERS. Socrates Walking the Halls "Socrates walking the halls came about in one of our strategic sessions. The facilitator asked, 'What is it that you see happening in this new building?' And one of our answers was the idea of questions being answered by questions," explained Dr. Mary Grace Simcox, President of the College. "No longer the sage on the stage - that whole mentality was left behind. We wanted the place to be extremely vibrant, with learning taking place everywhere." Building from this idea, College leadership began to define how this abstract concept could be implemented, not only in a new College space, but in a new College culture. From this came six guiding principles: The open Atrium Lounge includes ample space for students to socialize and study as sunlight streams in from the Cooper Building's ten skylights. W orking with an expert team of designers, architects, engineers and consultants, the College began the complex process of designing a space that would turn this vision into a reality. College leadership gathered input from focus groups and surveys of students, faculty and staff. They toured numerous other educational and January 18, 2016 Employees move into the Stoudt Building 9 inPractice | FALL 2016 professional sites to collect innovative ideas. They brought in sample furniture for students to lounge in and technology for faculty to experience, and collected feedback from each encounter. On an astonishingly rapid timeline, they turned this input and these ideas into a reality. And the end result is staggering. May 25, 2016 Construction ends The Learning Space The moment you step into the new PA College campus, you know that it's not like any other college campus. In Dr. Simcox's experience, "When I take guests on tours, comments are made repeatedly about how different this place is, how it just feels different, and how nothing else June 27, 2016 Employees move into the Cooper Building August 27, 2016 Classes begin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of inPractice - Fall 2016