The University of Dayton Center for International Programs has been settling into its new facility in the Rike Center since early December.

The facility underwent a $3.7 million renovation to prepare to house the CIP, which formerly was located in Alumni Hall. The fine arts, art education and art history programs, previously located in the Rike Center, moved into the College Park Center, according to a Sept. 29 Flyer News article.

The facility now has six classrooms with up-to-date technology, new administrative and faculty offices, a kitchenette and an art gallery transformed into a student common area, called the World Exchange Lounge, according to Sally Raymont, programs director for education abroad.

The building includes a central reception area and advising office, and the Intensive English Program now has a larger and more centralized space, said Tina Manco, associate director of partnerships and exchanges.

Even though the program has moved in the Rike Center, administrators still feel like they are in the heart of the campus, Manco said.

Classrooms for the Intensive English Program, re-entry class for international studies majors and pre-departure classes for summer study abroad programs are located on both floors of the two-story building, Raymont said.

Students said they are enjoying the new space at the Rike Center.

"I think that it provides the opportunity for the CIP to serve students better," said Sarah Edwards, a senior international studies and French major and CIP student-worker. "I like the new facility."

With more space and a centralized location, the new CIP building will serve as a foundation to increase community involvement, said CIP student-worker David Parkes, a senior international studies and French major.

"Perhaps this is a good experience for an office that prepares students for intercultural experiences - to see our own UD 'world' from a new perspective," Manco said.

Zahra Alwhaimed, a fine arts major with a concentration in photography who came to UD from Saudi Arabia in October, said she never took classes in Alumni Hall.

Alwhaimed said she has taken classes at UD's River Campus, the facility located on River Park Drive that was acquired from NCR Corp. in 2010.

Alwhaimed, who is using the CIP facilities for the first time this semester for the Intensive English Program, said she prefers the River Park campus because it's quieter.

"For me, I don't like a building stuck with all students," she said.

Bin Hu, an MBA student from China who came to UD in October, said he likes the Rike Center location more than Alumni Hall because he feels more comfortable there.

He said the different location does not make a difference to him, however.

Hamad Abu Jassom, an Intensive English Program student and electrical engineering major from Qatar who has been at UD since October, said he likes the building because of the larger classrooms. As for the location, Abu Jassom said he likes the location because it's closer to his apartment.

Karin Avila-John, program manager for the Intensive English Program, said the larger classroom sizes create a more efficient learning space.

"In Alumni, you were very crowded; you couldn't move around" she said.

She said the larger rooms have created more space for students to work in small groups.

She said every classroom now has better technology. Each one has a projector to teach with video clips, a laptop and audio capabilities, she said.

"We didn't have that in Alumni," she said. "It was very limited; we had some [of the same technology], but not much and not all rooms had it."

Manco said the Rike Center allows the CIP to be more creative.

"Rike is an interesting space, and moving to a new facility has challenged us to think about how we work as a team, as well as how we organize ourselves in terms of functions," Manco said.



Students gather in the Center for International Programs, Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Rike Center. The CIP recently moved from its former home in Alumni Hall.