There is a tremendous amount of jackhammering, nail pounding and dust, not to mention less parking at the Surbeck Center on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus these days. Why? Renovation! Students voted more than a year ago to raise student fees to update the dining center, infrastructure, office/service space efficiencies and other needs. Renovation is slated to be complete by the start of the Fall 2009 semester in late August.
In 2002, the process of renovating Surbeck Center actually began. Phase I of Surbeck Center renovations, also funded by student fees, was completed in 2004. Seeing the impact these new spaces have had on student interaction and learning, in addition to the fact that the infrastructure of the building has far exceeded its lifespan, helped to propel the renovation of the remainder of the building.
The history of Surbeck dates back to the late 1950s. Guy March, then mathematics department head and Alumni Association director, asked for alumni and friends of the School of Mines to help give students a place to work together and play together. After opening its doors in 1963, the Surbeck Center has been the living room to thousands of students. In the 1970s an addition to the west side of the building created new spaces for the bookstore and dining hall.
In the 1960s, Surbeck Center featured a barber shop and record-listening rooms. Today, students are looking for comfortable places to work as teams and study together. The renovated Surbeck "South Lounge" provides a great space for students to do just this, but it is often at capacity and many students who would like to utilize the space cannot. Students also use meeting room space for academic and extra-curricular activities - literally hundreds of hours of use.
Additionally, the Surbeck Center continues to provide the campus and the community with meeting and banquet space. In the past decade, the demand for engineers and scientists has significantly increased. The Career Center has expanded their programming by now sponsoring two career fairs each year, both of which have outgrown the space the Surbeck Center can provide. In addition to hosting more than 100 employers during the career fairs, the Career Center coordinates interviews for students searching for employment following graduation as well as co-ops and internships. On average, more than 800 student interviews take place in Surbeck Center during an academic year. The Career Center is just one of many on-campus entities utilizing the space Surbeck has to provide to the benefit of our students.
Dining Services has been located in Surbeck Center since the beginning as well. Students now have the option of all-you-can eat dining or grabbing something to go in the Miner's Shack Snack Bar. During the academic year, Dining Services provides more than 1,300 meals each day. Catering services also utilizes the banquet rooms for a variety of functions.
The initial concept of Surbeck remains--this project is to provide students with the interactive space that makes college experiences possible. This experience is a success when students form a bond with classmates over a soda or after studying for extensive hours.
"Activities that occur in the center are focused to assist students in personal and professional development as well as academic support to augment classroom learning," Reeny Wilson, Surbeck Center Director, said. "Equally important is that the building be a campus showpiece that will aid in the recruitment and retention of students and faculty in an increasingly competitive environment."
Senior Melanie Satchell, 2008-2009 Student Association President and current Student Regent of the South Dakota Board of Regents agrees.
"In essence, we want students to experience college life in a safe, healthy and energy efficient environment," she said. "This renovated facility will continue to be the living room for the School of Mines students and alumni and the location of choice for campus and community activities for many decades into the future."
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