Following a rebranding, UC Services look to the future
The services provided at the University Centre have been consolidated under the banner of UC Services during the summer semester. Since the rebranding, UC Services have committed to several new programs and initiatives designed to better serve students, faculty, and the greater Guelph community.
Campus Bakery Co., a new initiative launched on Jan. 16, will provide fresh baked goods at both the Brass Taps and for meetings that are hosted in the UC. The baked goods available through Campus Bakery Co. will utilize ingredients made on the Guelph campus.
“A lot of menu items already use University of Guelph items, such as our honey. Our scones are made with honey from our research station,” said Mike Calvert, manager of department operations for UC Services.
Keeping the menu local and working in partnership with providers in the Guelph area is a focus of the new menu offered by the Campus Bakery Co.
Calvert said that, along with the new bakery service, the Brass Taps will also be opening their doors earlier at 9:30 a.m. to provide students with more space to meet and study in the UC.
“It’s a nice quiet atmosphere outside of the normal noise of the University Centre. One of our big focuses this year is to really enhance the space and make it a lot more inviting and welcoming,” said Calvert.
In addition to providing more space in the Brass Taps, the upcoming renovations to the UC aim to give more space for students to study and collaborate. The 103 Project, as Calvert calls it, is a new student lounge and study space that will open on the main floor of the UC. The new study space is planned to seat up to 100 and alleviate the strain on available student space across campus.
Renovations to Peter Clark Hall (PCH), which will begin in June, will see the the floors, wings, and electrical completely updated.Calvert said that, once the PCH update is complete, the meeting rooms on the fourth floor will be updated over the summer of 2017.
“We have taken on a lot with these projects, but we think it’s vital. We really need to update these rooms,” said Calvert.
During renovations, whether in UC 103, PCH, or the fourth floor meeting rooms, updating the technological capabilities of these meeting spaces is one of key goals to making sure that they are able to better serve the University community, said Calvert.
While the UC is structurally limited in the space it is able to provide, properly utilizing that space will be important going forward.
“Our focus is finding every available area and space within the building and being able to maximize it, whether it is a group seating setting or for individual study.”
The renovations to the UC will a follow a proposed three year plan, with the final remodelling set to be finished in 2019.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion