RUMFORD — The University College Center at Rumford/Mexico has begun the fall semester at its new location on the third floor of the River Valley Technology Center at 60 Lowell St.
“We’ve had very positive feedback from the students walking through the door,” Director Lisa Cooper said. “I think it gives them a sense of pride to be in a new space and to know that their institution has invested in them.”
“We like the idea of being an anchor point in the downtown Rumford area, inspiring startup businesses and other nonprofit partners to join us,” Cooper said. “Moving to the Technology Center makes us very visible in the heart of the Rumford area. It allows Rumford to tell the community, ‘Hey, we have higher education at the heart of the community.’”
“The new space, centralized within the downtown, also puts us within walking distance of other downtown businesses, along with municipal authorities, and community partners,” Cooper said. “Hopefully, this new location will encourage new collaborative opportunities and invigorate customer traffic.”
Cooper, who became the director 18 months ago, said, “We began thinking about relocating the center about a year ago.”
The Brown Street facility in Mexico, used for the past decade, wasn’t handicap accessible and a lot of students and community members had no idea where the college center was located.
The new location also provides more opportunities for students to interact with the community, including as consumers.
Cooper said she’s talked to I’L B Fit on the ground floor about a program for students receiving a discount to use the fitness center.
“We’ve got the Pennacook (Art Center) below us and I know they’re on the hunt for an art instructor for me,” she said.
“I have a student who is in his senior year as an art major, and he wanted to do an internship to do a rotating collection of art work by UMA students and faculty members throughout the state, and have it rotate like a gallery,” Cooper said. “He actually moonlights as an IT person and he was helping with some of the setup (here), noting all the great spaces for showcasing artwork,” she said.
The College Center is using about 25 percent of the 16,000 square feet available on the third floor of the former International Paper bag mill, according to Rumford Economic Developer Jim Rinaldo. The center has a five-year lease.
Cooper said, ironically, the size of the new space is only about half the size of the old center. “But from a usability standpoint, it’s far more usable. I have much better flexibility in the use of the spaces than I did in the older center.”
The facility includes:
* A student lounge area;
* A quiet lab for testing for incoming students;
* A computer lab, which allows up to 10 students and an instructor to teach on site;
* Spaces for video conference classes;
* A cafe area;
* A small video room for students; and
* A larger classroom for traditional instruction, with an overhead projector and a laptop connector. This can also serve as a public meeting room.
The university college is one of eight such centers in the state. Cooper said the center averages about 200 to 250 students per semester, including online students. The average age of students is 37 years old.
“What that means is the majority of students coming to us are working people, people with families. They are students who may have started college and either dropped out or stopped and now want to come back,” she said.
bfarrin@sunmediagroup.net
What: Open house at the University College Center at Rumford/Mexico
Where: Third floor, River Valley Technology Center, 60 Lowell St.
When 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28
Who: James Conneely, president of University of Maine at Augusta, and local community partners.
Theme: Community Building Together
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