Summer 2007 - Northwestern College

Campusnews
Northwestern Classic
NWC happenings
Workers clear the area in front of the Rowenhorst Student Center in preparation for the installation of a new parking lot.
Move-in day
They’ve been waiting for
this day for more than a year.
Now it’s finally here.
Sometime in July, staff of
the offices and services displaced
during the renovation
of the Rowenhorst Student
Center (RSC) will begin
moving into their new home.
Student development, counseling
services, the mailroom
and bookstore—scattered
across campus during
2006–07—will once again
be under one roof.
Workmen spent the
month of June creating a
new parking lot, installing
cabinets and countertops,
and putting finishing touches
on the building.
Deb Wolthuizen ’85,
hired as the college’s new
mailroom supervisor in
January, has been operating
Northwestern’s mail services
from the ticket booth of the
DeWitt Theatre Arts Center.
Her reaction upon seeing the
remodeled RSC mirrors that
of many others.
“‘Wow!’ When you first
walk in, that’s the first thing
you say,” she says. “It’s very
open and spacious—just a
very pleasant atmosphere. I
think students are going to
enjoy having the mailboxes
back in the hub of all the
action. We’ll be right
between the bookstore and
the café, so it’s going to be a
great location.”
Eric Anderson, associate
dean for student development
and residence life, also
appreciates the building’s
transformation. Before, the
RSC had no natural light.
Now, with the clerestory
windows in the roof, the student
center is brighter with
every light turned off than
the old RSC was with every
light on.
Along with offices with
windows, Anderson says he
and his colleagues are most
excited to be back under the
same roof.
“We’re putting people
together using a strategic
placement rather than
through a piecemeal
approach,” he says. “I feel
like it’s becoming more of a
student development hub.”
Thanks to the addition of clerestory windows along the roof, the renovated RSC has
a bright, open feel.
6 ▲ Summer 2007