Remnants of the Women’s Resource Center in the Student Success Hub. Photo by Kimberly Resendiz.
By Maya Garibay-Sahm, Staff Reporter
The third floor of the North Leo F. Cain Library, which once housed the Student Success Hub, a dozen student-serving organizations and programs, is all but deserted now, its former occupants either operating virtually or scattered across campus.
And while some may return after ongoing renovations are completed, students looking for them are better off consulting Google than heading to the space that was envisioned in an April 2018 town hall as the “center of intellectual and creative life at this university.”
Any of the offices you’re used to seeing there should have updated their web page with information about their current locations, (and) operating hours, “Vice Provost Ken O’Donnell said.
Only two student-serving organizations remain on the floor, the CSUDH Writing Center and Educational Partnership (The Bulletin newsroom is also on the third floor.)
The programs no longer there include: the Career Center, Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), University Advisement Center (UAC), Encounter to Excellence(ETE), Male Success Alliance, Supplemental Instruction – English, Toro Guardian Scholars (TGS), and the Women’s Resource Center (WRC).
Issues haves plagued the Student Success Hub almost since university construction sparked its creation.Many of the original occupants were relocated to the library’s third floor after the demolition of the Small Business Complex in order to clear room for the innovation and Instruction Building.
Having so many student organizations in such close proximity drew positive and negative comments from tenants, the Bulletin reported in November. 2019. Some appreciated how they could direct students to organizations a few cubicles away that could better serve them. Others that dealt with students on matters where privacy was important felt the space’s configuration–slow walls, no doors—breached student confidentially laws.
In December, 2019, a grievance filed with the California State University alleging unsanitary and hazardous working conditions.
As far as the future, while there are no definite plans as yet, O’Donnell said that some organizations will be returning to the third floor, but only those that won’t be unduly affected by its configuration.
“We’ve learned that the open floor plan works better for some kinds of offices than for others,” he said.
