Working Toward a Better ONU

When it comes to running a successful college campus, it is necessary to keep up with the times. A college campus needs to consistently update itself in order to attract perspective students. The updating of college campus facilities and landscaping is key to making sure that students visiting actually want to live on the campus. The academic reputation of a college may be what gets students to the campus, but more often than not the campus environment is the deciding factor for many making their choice of school. For me personally, the campus environment here at Ohio Northern was one of the factors that most attracted me to this place. The university strategically has most of their visits in the late spring and summer time. This is the time of year when campus looks its best and most lively. The fact that Ohio Northern has such an open and airy feeling to it, it makes the university feel like a park than a college campus. Although Northern does have a very attractive campus, there are always things that can be done to make a campus better. Many of these changes are being done for the fall semester of 2018.

McIntosh Dining Hall before renovation.

McIntosh Dining Hall after renovation. 

Ohio Northern has been leading a relatively aggressive campaign to update its campus for future perspective student recruitment. The campaign has mainly been focused on the updating of the existing structures on campus. The first major update to the campus was the renovation of the McIntosh Student Center in the center of campus. The updates started mainly on the student lounges and dining facilities in the building. The old bowling alley that had been abandoned for years was turned into a student recreation and meeting center, and the dining facilities were updated to be cleaner and more modern. The next major improvement to better student life on campus was the creation of a cooperative learning environment on the first floor of the library. The floor was refurbished to include several spaces where groups could meet to study and work collaboratively on projects and assignments. The space was modeled after several other learning environments that were created to better the experience of students on campus. This renovation included the construction of cubicles with large writing surfaces and conference tables for group work, independent areas with expo writing surfaces for individual studying, a large open seating area and a new cafe

 that has alternating hours with a similar one in McIntosh for late night coffee runs. All of these updates were the beginning phases for a face-lift on the ONU campus.

New Engineering Building facade. 

The next stage in the update campaign for the Ohio Northern is a slightly more aggressive and substantial one. The main focus of this stage of the campaign is the construction of the new engineering building on campus. As of April 27^th, the site of the new building will officially become an active work zone. The underground piping for water, power and sewage had been laid the previous year at approximately the same time of year. The next phase is the construction of the building, as the university’s theoretical deadline of the fall of 2019 draws closer and closer. There is also a great deal of other work that coincides with the new building. One is the demolition of the Clark building that stands close to the new engineering facility site. The building will be demolished to make room for a new IT facility for the university. The current Biggs Engineering building will also be undergoing renovation as it the colleges shift to their new buildings. The current engineering building will be given as space to the manufacturing department as well as the psychology department for classroom and laboratory space in order to get them out of their current spaces. This is an especially big advancement for the psychology department due to the fact that they are currently housed in the basement of the Hill building. Their current space is prone to floods in the wet seasons, and several other issues have created a sense of urgency to get the department a new space.  This may mark the beginning for a whole new look for Ohio Northern’s Campus, but only time will tell just how much will change on this small campus.