Faculty and adjunct offices in Communications South vacated; moved to Communications North
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
Ahead of scheduled demolition on campus set to begin in a few months, changes due to the “STLCC Transformed” project are already taking place on the Meramec campus.
Following the plan outlined by Campus President Feleccia Moore-Davis, faculty and adjunct offices in the Communications South building were vacated this past month. Classes will continue to be held in the building until the end of the semester in December, and is set to be demolished in the spring. Most offices that were in Communications South were moved to the second floor of the Communications North building.
For some faculty, the change is a welcome one. Department Chair Chris Smejkal agrees that keeping the Communications instructors together in one building was the right move.
“We were concerned that we were going to be scattered around the campus,” Smejkal said. “We have a fairly large department, and staying together so we can communicate more efficiently was paramount to us. We are extremely happy that we have a home, and we are all together.”
Smejkal’s comments are ones that longtime Meramec professor Denise Sperruzza agrees with.
“Throughout the workday there are many instances of important communication that occur that could not [occur] if we were not in the same space,” Sperruzza said. “Unless a department would choose to be separated, I think relocation together should always be the procedure.”
Due to his status as Department Chair, Smejkal has his own office. Sperruzza’s most recent office space in Communications South was only occupied by her, but in Communications North she will be sharing one. Despite the quickness and the timing of the move (Sperruzza said that the move taking place during midterms “was a challenge”) both of the professors and the department as a whole appear to be adjusting to their new environment.
“Well, we just moved into our new space,” Smejkal said. “There are still things to put away, find new homes for, and establish creative solutions for since this office area is different than our previous one. As for my personal office, I am unpacked and organized.”
Sperruzza said that she is adjusting well.
“I am a person who enjoys change, so I’m not experiencing anxiety from moving to a new space,” she said. “I am still unpacking because my job of teaching and grading must come first. I’m trying to unpack a bit every day so I don’t have to work with unpacked boxes around me for too long. Clutter actually makes me a bit anxious.”
Sperruzza also said that she was looking forward to greater collaboration with colleagues in the English department, and appreciated how welcoming and accommodating they were.
“Some English faculty are still in offices on the second floor where we now are. I’m looking forward to opportunities for collegial collaboration with my English faculty colleagues, as well as the opportunity to foster new friendships,” she said. “The English folks were, and are, welcoming to us. Some of them had to change offices to make space for us to be together, which I really appreciate. I’m especially appreciative of them because when they had to temporarily move when Communications North was renovated [from March 2018 to March of 2019], they were not together as a department.”
Smejkal also expressed his gratitude to his English department colleagues.
“We are very grateful to the English department, as they made a lot of changes to accommodate us on the second floor of Communications North,” he said. “We know that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, and we definitely sympathize with those who may be displaced in a less than convenient manner.”
Smejkal joined STLCC as an adjunct in 2001 and became a full time faculty member in 2007. Sperruzza joined STLCC-Meramec as an adjunct in 1992 and began teaching here full time in 2000. Both say that while they are excited for the changes, they may miss the Communications South building after it’s demolished. While Sperruzza said she has had many offices over the years, Smejkal had been based out of the same Communications South office for sixteen years after becoming a full time faculty member; he had been working out of the adjunct office prior to that.
“Personally, I will miss my office and the building for sentimental reasons. It was my first home, so to speak, and it’s always difficult to leave your home,” Smejkal said. “There were, however, a lot of design flaws in that building, and it was not efficient when it came to the HVAC setup. Regardless of those shortcomings, it was a great home, and I will miss it. But, I am also excited and hopeful for the next chapter of our department and our college as a whole.”
Sperruzza said, “From a nostalgic perspective, I might miss Communications South a bit when it’s gone. I’m more excited that an old building is being replaced with a new one. That said, we do not know if we will be in the new building. We also do not know yet if the new building plans will accommodate the spaces that are being lost from the buildings that are being torn down. So, it’s possible I will miss Communications South in the future if the new spaces are insufficient for the classes we teach and the students we serve.”
Regarding further office changes across campus, the humanities department is scheduled to relocate to the Social Science building between Nov. 10-11, while the business and accounting department will move to the Applied Science building between Dec. 1-2. The library and Academic Success and Tutoring will be moving to the Student Center and the IT Department will be moving to the Physical Education building, with exact timelines still to be finalized.
