University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine 2017 Summer Libraries Magazine | Page 20

SOAR & Libraries Partner to Give
SOAR Advising a Permanent
Home in College Library
T
housands of new students make their
way to the University of Wisconsin–
Madison each summer, preparing for their
first semester on campus. What better way
to introduce them to the wealth of campus
resources than to welcome them to one of the
very buildings they will likely spend a great
deal of time in: College Library.
A new partnership between Student
Orientation, Advising, and Registration
(SOAR), the Division of Student Life, and
the General Library System means SOAR’s
advising sessions will have a permanent
home in College Library beginning in
summer 2017. SOAR, which mainly operates
in Union South, holds sessions for incoming
students primarily June through August.
SOAR’s focus is to help students learn about
campus resources, meet with academic
advisors, discuss campus life, and enroll in
fall-semester courses.
“SOAR Advising’s permanent location
within College Library provides a wonderful
sense of stability to a key program for new
One of the newly renovated spaces in College Library.
20 | LIBRARIES Summer 2017
students,” said Chancellor Rebecca Blank.
“This collaboration allows our campus to
showcase the resources and possibilities
available that students can immediately
leverage for their success.”
In the 1980s, SOAR Advising was housed
in “old” Union South. Once the space was
demolished in 2009 and rebuilt, SOAR’s
overall efforts continued to operate out of the
“new” Union South. However, the advising
sessions had to find temporary locations each
year due to the revitalization of the building
and reconfiguration of meeting spaces.
This displaced the advising components of
the program to classroom buildings like
Engineering Hall, Biochemistry, Van Vleck,
and Social Sciences. The lack of a permanent
area left SOAR Advising, which requires
approximately 20,000 square feet of space,
struggling to accommodate the growing
incoming class numbers, while competing for
campus space as summer programming and
construction increased.
“Since the razing of the ‘old’ Union
South, SOAR has struggled to find more than
temporary academic advising space,” said
Carren Martin, Director of the Center for the
First-Year Experience. “Locating the program
in a new facility every year or two was
logistically challenging and an inefficient use
of human and financial resources.”
After a campus-wide search, College
Library offered the best opportunity for SOAR
Advising for the long-term.
“SOAR is a highly visible entry point for
new students and their parents,” said George
Watson, who served as a project guide from
the Office of Quality Improvement. “This new
home for SOAR Advising results in a win-win
outcome.”
Modifications to College Library include
upgrades and reconfigurations to quiet
study areas, the café, and spaces used by
the Wisconsin Collaboratory for Enhanced
Learning (WisCEL). The addition of
multipurpose furniture, outlets, as well as
improvements to the existing technology, and
overall infrastructures will be made to meet
SOAR’s needs.
College Library is a heavily trafficked
location throughout the school year, but the
slower summer pace meant additional space
was available, making it an ideal setting for
SOAR.
“We’re thrilled to welcome SOAR into
College Library,” said Vice Provost for
Libraries and University Librarian Ed Van
Gemert. “We recognize this partnership is
an investment by campus to improve shared-
space opportunities, offer students the
highest-quality services, and create unique
collaborative partnerships across campus.”
Adds Director of College Library Carrie
Kruse, “College Library is also excited about
having every incoming student get a chance
to experience the library space as part of their
introduction to campus.”
The move means adjusting how some key
areas are utilized, including WisCEL. WisCEL
is now working with campus Facilities,
Planning & Management (FP&M) to move its
unique capabilities to other spaces around
campus in order to integrate them into the
classrooms for the upcoming academic year.
“The big picture shows the inclusion of
SOAR Advising into College Library is good
for our students, and WisCEL is happy to help
create a win-win experience for everyone
involved,” said John Booske, WisCEL Director
and Electrical and Computer Engineering
Chair. “We recognize the solution of investing
to convert more spaces into 21st-century
active learning classrooms, optimizing
configurations and infrastructure to enhance
the overall learning experience.”
“It’s important to note the permanence of
the advising portion of SOAR being housed in
one location, the Libraries, and the positive
impact that will have on our incoming
students,” explains Lori Berquam, Dean of
Students and Vice Provost for the Division
of Student Life. “Allowing new students to
become familiar with the Libraries during
SOAR and before they get to campus, is an
example of using existing resources and
ongoing partnerships to help make our
campus seem smaller to incoming students.”
First-phase modifications and construction
began in early 2017 to prepare for the summer
2017 sessions. Long-term renovations,
expected over a three-year period, will also
include upgraded restroom areas.
“It’s so much more than a space. It’s adding
a team of dedicated staff that are invested
in first-year student success,” said Chris
Verhaeghe, Assis tant Director of Orientation
Initiatives. “We couldn’t ask for a better ally
or partner moving forward with the new
SOAR Advising home.”
For more information visit Student
Orientation, Advising, and Registration;
the Libraries; or the Division of Student
Life.
SOAR advisors prepare in between
student sessions.
It’s so much more than a space. It’s adding a team
of dedicated staff that are invested in first-year
student success. We couldn’t ask for a better ally
or partner moving forward with the new SOAR
Advising home.
~ Chris Verhaeghe, Assistant Director of
Orientation Initiatives
University of Wisconsin–Madison | 21