Master Plan construction will change the locations of orientation programs this upcoming summer.

Many orientation activities will utilize Miller Hall, Willcox Hall, and Goldstein Academic classrooms, as well as Goldstein Fitness Center instead of Kessel Student Center rooms, which will be under-construction over the summer. The Pace Bookstore will also be temporarily relocated during the summer session to one of the classrooms in Miller.

Current students have voiced concerns that the Master Plan would change the way Pace is seen, and orientation for many was a huge part of what drew them to the campus. Shawn Livingston, Associate Director of Student Development & Campus Activities, explained how the feel that Orientation has will remain the same.

“Students that are coming for orientation don’t know any different,” Livingston said. “We promote how we make students feel, Pace excellence, and customer service which can be done in any location on campus.”

Master Plan brainstorming and think-tank sessions reviewed student life on college campuses in order to find what was most important. Generating a hub, or a localized area for students, events, and performing arts, is meant to increase student involvement and campus activities. With a central area for events and programs that students will have to walk through to get to the other side of the campus, the plan is to force students to see what is happening on campus.

“Maybe the Master Plan will dictate a change in the culture, one that creates a larger sense of community,” Livingston said.

Some current Pace students question the value of the Master Plan based on the current appearance of the campus, while others look in a more futuristic light at the goals that the plan hopes to achieve.

“I absolutely think the Master Plan is worth it,” Livingston said. “Gratification is not always immediate. Looking at longer-term goals is ultimately beneficial for Pace as a whole. When the process is done it will raise the value of a Pace degree, for you, me, and anyone that ever went here.”

As the Master Plan will increase the population of student residents on the Pleasantville campus, it will also require an increase in staffing. New buildings and their corresponding programs will require the hiring of new student positions within the resident halls. With 24-hour service being a main concern, positions for new resident assistants and student office managers in resident halls have been proposed.

“With construction, generally there is growth with growth,” Livingston said. “As an enrollment driven university, the campus is expected to grow based on the incoming draw of students seeing the growth of the campus.”

The Master Plan will be affecting students and faculty but to each person the effects have taken different sides. In terms of orientation, everything will continue to happen per usual, just with a different setup to accommodate the growth of the campus.