By: Jason Ladley, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, jkl6160@psu.edu 

An idea over a decade in the making is finally a reality at Penn State Brandywine, with the Academic Success Center soon to open in the Vairo Library.  

For years, students at Brandywine have used the various tools at their disposal to achieve academic success on campus, and those tools included the Writing Studio, Brandywine Learning, the STEM Lab, and the Multicultural Program. While these tools were useful, one consensus was that these areas were spread out, and talks began to surface about bringing these programs into one central hub of education and support. 

Christine Brown is the coordinator for the Brandywine Learning Center, and talks began as far back as 2010 when she took her position. “This whole idea was really something that had been in the works even before I had arrived,” Brown said. “We knew that we could always improve the ways in which students could learn, and the concept of an all-encompassing area that could serve multiple needs for the campus academically was an idea that everyone was on board with.”  

However, the idea of the Academic Success Center would be stifled multiple times throughout the years. While it was something that everyone agreed would be useful for the university, outside factors would take their tolls on the project. Faculty changes, other priorities, and especially COVID-19 played huge roles in the delays of the project.  

Finally, after years of waiting, the project began to take shape, and construction began on the center. It is promised to be a state-of-the-art area where students can learn at their own pace and can get any help they find necessary to advance their academic careers. “One of the most promising things about the Center is the new technology that will be installed,” Brown said. “While we have to await further training, once the faculty is comfortable with the technology, we really will see the efficiency of tutoring increase rapidly, as small groups will be able to work together in a more successful way.” 

Speaking of faculty, “Another focus area is the overall communication between the faculty members who help run these programs,” Brown said. “The Academic Success Center will be sectioned off in a way where each of the programs will have their own distinct areas, allowing students to learn more effectively, as well as promoting a more organized structure for us as faculty members with one central learning hub.”  

Faculty are not the only ones excited about the Academic Success Center either; as fourth-year student Michael Dunleavy noted his enthusiasm for the upcoming opening of the Center. “In my freshman year, I took ENGL 5 in the Writing Studio,” he said. “It was nice to have another outlet I could use for revising my papers. My tutor also provided a fresh perspective on my writing and pointed out clear inconsistencies in my writing that I otherwise may have not seen.” 

When asking Dunleavy about what he, as a student, thinks about the impact the new technology would have on learning. “Technology will only become more prominent in educational settings as time goes on, so the new smart board technology is a necessity. I think it will help facilitate an interactive style of learning between student and tutor that is harder to achieve with paper and pencil,” he said. 

When the Academic Success Center opens, the Writing Studio, Learning Center, Multicultural Program, and STEM Lab will share a home soon. If students are looking for guidance on these topics, feel free to stop by and get help, and take in the new sights at Brandywine in 2024!