Students at the Center of Transformation of Teachers College

CECH Dean Lawrence J. Johnson and University of Cincinnati Libraries Dean and University Librarian Victoria A. Montavon will host a special open house for invited alumni and friends to get a first-hand look at the improvements from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 6, at Teachers College. CECH student ambassadors will lead guided tours of the new facilities to celebrate the new amenities and to look ahead to the college’s next century of excellence.

The University of Cincinnati’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH) has provided more than a century of service on the local, national and state levels, formed in 1905 in partnership with the Cincinnati Board of Education. Before construction began on a permanent home for the college, classes were held in old McMicken Hall and in Beecher Hall after it was constructed in 1915 (now the site of University Pavilion), with construction first beginning on Teachers College in 1930.

Over the past decade, significant growth in enrollment, combined with the demand for accommodations for today’s technology and ADA standards, resulted in a massive $18.5 million, two-year overhaul on Teachers College/Dyer Hall, with construction that first got underway in 2007. The result reveals facets of the college’s original Georgian architectural grandeur that had been hidden for decades, as well as the addition of modern amenities and inviting spaces outside the classrooms for students to gather and study. A total of 60,000 gross square feet of the building was restored, with costs secured through state and local funding.

"This renovation also punctuates the growing stature of our programs in the college and will provide a place for faculty to be innovative and forward thinking" says CECH Dean Lawrence J. Johnson.

“This is not just a place to check into a classroom and leave anymore,” says Nelson Vincent, associate dean of CECH. “Seating areas line the hallways and we have group study areas with comfortable, inviting furniture. Now, there’s not a space in this building that does not have natural light. There’s even the beginning of an outside reading garden that would accommodate as many as 50 people.”

One of the most spectacular examples of blending the new with the old lies within the new CECH Library, the former site of a computer lab that was moved to another area of the building. Years ago, the space was the Annie Laws Auditorium which held a stage for performances, an area discovered again in the renovation. The restoration involved the removal of a dropped ceiling, revealing the original art deco, 22-foot-high ornate plaster ceiling and a Juliette balcony that now overlooks the CECH Library.

Vincent adds that the library renovations will also bring back a 110-year-old grandfather clock restored by Douglas Rife, a senior lab associate and instructor for the mechanical engineering technology department in the College of Applied Science.

“The library is also going to be a venue for a good percentage of the UC art collection,” adds Vincent. The library has the holdings of the former Curriculum Resources Center that were housed in Blegen Library, and has broadened its focus to serve the needs of the college’s criminal justice and human services students and faculty. The lower level of the library contains an information commons, production lab, video viewing space and curriculum materials.

“I’m thrilled that the renovation of Teachers College presented the opportunity to create this excellent library space to serve the needs of the entire CECH community,” said Victoria A. Montavon, Dean and University Librarian.

Replicas of the original lighting adorn the hallway entrances to the building. New wood-stained pillars add warmth and reverence to the renovated lobby of Teachers College. Modern amenities include an overhaul of the college’s HVAC, fire protection and electrical and plumbing systems, as well as exterior improvements that include new windows, roofing and repairs to the brick-and-limestone façade.

A video conferencing room holds state-of-the-art audio and video conferencing equipment just behind the renovated Annie Laws Conference Room, which can now be converted into a 50-seat conferencing area or an intimate dining room with a working fireplace. Adjacent to the room is a converted catering kitchen which Dean Johnson says will get use when he cooks for events celebrating the students, faculty, staff and community. Johnson asserted that the college has a tradition of being student centered. "The new spaces and learning environments will help ensure our ability to keep students at the center," he says. 

In addressing the emphasis on the science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM) education needs of the 21st century, the college renovations include a new center dedicated to STEMM education, named the UC STEMM FUSION Center. Updated labs, SMART boards and plasma TVs are all included in the modernized facilities.

Vincent says since the year 2000, college enrollment more than doubled from 2,100 students to 4,354 students reported in fall 2008. In the college’s 21st century approach to meeting the diverse educational needs of students, CECH holds the majority of the university’s distance learning students (1,603) as well as the most (nine) distance-learning programs.

The building improvements will house offices for up to 130 faculty and staff and contain four new learning rooms, including two computer instructional labs.

The architect for the renovations was Champlin/Haupt Associates of Cincinnati. The contractor for the project was the Empire Building Company of Cincinnati.