Saturday, March 2, 2013

Burgundy and mustard yellow balloons

It was his "vision," evidently
Saddleback College celebrates opening of renovated library (OC Reg)

School colors are
oh so important
     Saddleback College on Thursday celebrated the renovation of its Library and Learning Resource Center, a project that college officials say transforms it into a 21st century learning environment.
     It took almost three years to renovate the three-floor, 90,000-square-foot center into a brightly lit, spacious and organized library and resource center that is inviting to students and inclusive of their needs, Saddleback College Dean of Liberal Arts Kevin O'Connor said.
     "The building was generally dark, dingy and uninviting, almost dungeon-like," he said.
. . .
     The renovations cost $17 million, $11 million of which were paid through state grants, according to Saddleback Director of Facilities John Ozurovich.
     Burgundy and mustard yellow balloons that matched the school's colors were tied to the stair handrails that led up to the center Thursday afternoon, marking the celebration.
. . .
     The journey to renovating the center was long. It all began when O'Conner arrived on campus in July 1999.
     "I came into a building known as the library and realized that it needed renovation," he said. "So you might say from that first day, I embarked on a vision and campaign to make the case that Saddleback College needed to renovate the facility."….

RELATED:
A weird windowless library, alleged marauding flag-swiping Hippies, the protean name, and other district mysteries—Solved! • Saddleback College's "Nutt" Memorial Library • Academic Senate sends "resolution" to BOT recommending that the Utt Library be renamed
Quoting founding trustee Hans Vogel, 1970

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for Saddleback. I wish we had administrators at IVC who would deal so effectively and efficiently with some of our facility needs. Consider the kinds of classrooms that are used to teach the majority of GE required courses - I dare the admin to spend their 8 hours in those conditions. The A-100 building has been remodeled some 4 time under Glenn's leadership - our classrooms never.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad the balloons finally got the recognition they deserve!

Anonymous said...

Love the balloon head man. Nicely done. Very shiny.

IVC people who complain about classrooms should ask to teach in BSTIC - is often empty. Put in for a change in classrooms. It can be done! Sometimes the rooms are only in use for online class orientations and online exams - certainly the dismal classrooms could be used for that purpose.

In fact, someone should make a map of classrooms on campus, designating them as dismal or not. I'll get ya started.

A-200, pretty damn dismal, especially the ones who share walls with the student groups.
Tough time trying to teach while the MUN or Honors is having what sounds like a keg party next door. (Yes, I know - complain - but after awhile, you just give up.)

A-300 - equally dismal for different reasons. That poor building has never recovered from what Howard Gensler did to it.

B-100 - slightly better but often filthy. At least some classroom have windows to the outside. When another class plays a movie, give it up though.

The odd portables. These make us all feel like FEMA refugees from a hurricane.

Yes, there are fine buildings on campus - but the majority of our student taking transfer GE classes do not take classes in the theater or even BSTIC (and certainly will not be taking classes in the Kingdom of ART, coming soon) - they take classes in the shitty building that have been around since the college was first built. Where is our leadership on this? (Don't blame the recent downturn - this has been years in the making.) The trustees should ask for a tour of these buildings on campus - not the new ones.

Good for Saddleback. Too bad for us.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone seen the BSTIC external stairs? They're filthier than filth itself. Maybe someone could post a picture??

Anonymous said...

There's a wind tunnel effect around the BSTIc which has some unfortunate consequences. Those outside stairs really get it hard as the wind seems to pick up at kinds of debris and blow it into the stairwell where it dwells forever, trodden into the steps by students. It's not helped by all the nearby student smokers or the dripped of sodas... - or the fact that few notables, if any, ever care to take the outside stairs so even fewer people clean them.

Anonymous said...

You are one negative thinking person, Mr Bauer. Is there anything you can say that is positive about your district, Roy? Is there anything positive in your life? Are you ever grateful?

Anonymous said...

I see no negativity here from Roy, anon 9:02 - he posted an article from the Register and surrounded it with past coverage. Some of the comments are negative - but that is different. I work with Roy every day - pretty positive, happy guy. I don't know about you anon, but Roy's okay. The blog is a positive force. If he and others didn't acre, it wouldn't exist and be read as widely as it is.

Anonymous said...

"The blog is a positive force." You gotta be shitting me, 11:59! The writers on this blog feeds the negativity of the disenfranchised, the self-centered, the "I'm so special" like-minded takers in your district. This blog knocks everything systematically. No matter what you hear of at SOCCCD, Mr Bauer deprecate it and predicts the worst. Mind everyone else's business, Chunk. This insures you're neglecting your own. Never perform today what you can possibly postpone until tomorrow. Leave the important things to someone else instead of seeing to them personally. Be the sanctimonious humbug you are, and when YOU bungle things up just say "It's their fault," or that you are too good for your surroundings. Then sit down and wait for something to turn up that you can criticize and deprecate. Makes you feel better then and everyone else who shares your stinking thinking. So, here's a challenge - let's see a posting as to what is good about SOCCCD. In other words, make a gratitude list of those people places and things in SOCCCD that you're grateful for. You are the way you think, Chunk. We all are.

Anonymous said...

I, for one, think it is positive to give voice to the "disenfranchised" as you call it. one might wonder why there are people who are "disenfranchised" in a public college community.

It terms of posting about what is "good" - well, look no further than the recent coverage of the board of trustees meeting. Or Rebel Girl's coverage of her departed colleague.

And you know, you don't have to read the blog. It's not a required course. Make your own. Go for it.

Anonymous said...

Oh brave, brave Anonymous 10:31, if you're going to get all "positive" on us by calling me and my colleagues "sanctimonious" spewers of "humbug," at least tell us who you are.
But of course you won't. You are a coward.
Most in the district understand that this blog is the continuation of newsletters inspired by outrage over precisely the kind of faculty you describe--and by outrage over Brown Act violating trustees, 1st Amendment violating Presidents, etc. (Please see court records and news articles. It's all there to see.)
If you knew what you were talking about, you would understand that, and you would understand that there is a need for something like DtB.
Perhaps start your own blog.
You can continue your "postivity" there.
Good luck. --Roy Bauer

Anonymous said...

It's a challenge to be positive about plagiarism, cronyism, mismanagement and bullies - but go for it. It's all yours. And just because someone points out problems that doesn't suggest they don't see the good.

Anonymous said...

"... just because someone points out problems that doesn't suggst they don't see the good." Indeed, and thank you, 1:54. Those who complain and raise hell about idiocy, corruption, and injustice are also those who deeply appreciate the good in life, and who try to ensure that there is more of it. You clearly don't know Roy, 10:31. You don't know a force for good when you see it. Too bad, in a big way.

mah

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...