Boston Community College Debuts Student Success Center

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of a new Student Success Center on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The 56,000-square-foot building is the college’s first new facility in more than ten years, and it plays home to the College Library & Learning commons, academic advising, coaching, and wraparound services to support students.

The university partnered with NBBJ as the project architect and the State’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) and Bond Building and Construction for planning, engineering, and construction. The news release reports that all of the college’s buildings but one are about 50 years old and were designed to accommodate about 5,000 students. The campus has since tripled its student population and has seen an accumulation of deferred maintenance issues.

“Today, we are celebrating a new space that will benefit BHCC’s student community now and for years to come, improving their experience and maximizing the resources available to them,” said Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler. ”I want to share a strong congratulations to the BHCC leadership team and the entire student community for nurturing this project forward.”

The building was designed to be Net-Zero-Energy-ready, based on Passive House principles and including sustainability features like a geothermal well field on-campus, a future photovoltaic array, and a “highly insulated, high-performing envelope,” according to the news release.

“It is our genuine pleasure to deliver the space that your students deserve,” said DCAMM Commissioner Baacke. “Your students, faculty, and staff have been creating transformative experiences for 50 years, and they’ve been doing that despite the facilities. Now, they'll be doing it with the facilities that help make their jobs easier and not harder.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.

  • Stanford Online Reveals New Immersive Learning Studio

    Stanford Online recently marked its 30th anniversary with the announcement of a new immersive learning studio, according to a university news release. The studio takes advantage of AI-powered and immersive learning technologies to continue delivering personalized and faculty-led education.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.