Tanganyika Thorpe/Staff Photographer
Students can now find tutoring help, career advice and other services in the University Center space that had been occupied until recently by a small branch of the PNC Bank.
The Career Center, the Sophomore Center, the Academic Resource Center and others will temporarily use the vacated space, currently being referred to as the Drop Box, to meet with students, according to Dr. Andrew Brereton, director of projects and planning for Student Services.
The University’s contract with PNC ended this academic year, resulting in the empty office, Dr. Tracy Gottlieb, vice president of Student Services, told The Setonian.
“They believed the office wasn’t busy enough to justify keeping the space,” Dr. Gottlieb said.
While the University is working on a new contract for the office, the Drop Box will operate in this space, which is on the lower level of the university center near the cafeteria, for the remainder of the academic year.
“This is a pilot program to see if students use the drop-in opportunity to make contact with the many student support services,” Dr. Gottlieb said. “We also have offered other departments the drop-in space. We will see if the idea takes off.”
Chris Carbone, assistant director for career and employer development in the Career Center, spearheaded the project once he found out the bank was leaving. “[He] thought it would be a great opportunity to meet students where they always are,” Dr. Gottlieb said.
Student Services acted quickly on this proposal, having it ready in two weeks, according to Dr. Brereton.
“Everyone who heard the idea saw its value pretty quickly,” he said.
Tiffany Do can be reached at tiffany.do@student.shu.edu.
