As Columbia prepares to open its new Center for Student Success in Fall 2026, the Academic Center for Tutoring and Honors Lounge have moved into a newly redesigned shared space on the sixth floor of 33 E. Ida B. Wells Dr.
The college formally marked the opening of the spaces with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, April 23.
The Academic Center for Tutoring was previously located on the first floor of 33 Ida B. Wells, but that space is undergoing renovations to become the new Center for Student Success. The project is funded by an Illinois Board of Higher Education capital grant and supported through the Independent Colleges Capital Investment Grant Program, the Chronicle previously reported.
“I stress the coziness because people feel very comfortable with it and it seems to be the right size for the moment,” said Tanya Harasym, director of the Academic Center for Tutoring. “It fits our current time and tutors and students alike seem to be very much enjoying it.”
The Honors Lounge, previously located on the fourteenth floor of 624 S. Michigan Ave., now sits adjacent to the tutoring center. The new space features an open, multi-purpose space that includes a presentation area, kitchenette and private study rooms. The goal for the lounge is to create a space for honors students to have a strong sense of community and promote academic engagement.
“This lounge has been very intentionally designed, and it is going to be a hub for connection. It is going to be a hub for creative inquiry that supports the honors experience,” President and CEO Shantay Bolton said at the ceremony. “I want this to be a space where they exchange ideas that carry them from their time at Columbia well into their careers and beyond.”
The redesign of the Honors Lounge was planned by a team of honors students, led by Robin Whatley, director of the Honors Program, and others.
The idea for the new lounge came after the college began to relocate programs from the 624 S. Michigan Ave. building, which is being cleared completely out this summer in preparation for its sale.
The student redesign team worked to keep the same artistic elements from the old lounge to bring into the new one, said Micheal Kowalkowski, junior fine arts and arts management double major.
A call for art was put out to honors students earlier in the semester, and every artist who submitted their work got it featured in the new lounge.
“Since it’s a student lounge, having students involved really helped a lot in making sure it’s something they can use,” Kowalkowski said.
Sophomore illustration major Jade Flournoy was one of the students with artwork featured in the lounge. Her piece, titled “Bloom” and shows butterflies, was created specifically for the space as she said it represents growth.
“My work centers around nature, and I know being in the honors program and being around so many people allows me to see my peers grow,” Flournoy said.
Brian Marth, associate vice president for Student Success, thanked the team of students for redesigning the lounge, and said he hopes that the location for both the lounge and tutoring center sees longevity.
“You make Columbia what it is in the terms of the home we want to be,” Marth said. “Students feel challenged by the work they’re doing, but supported while they’re doing it.”
Copy edited by Katie Peters
