Courtesy of Myers Associates The addition will add 6,500 square feet to the facility.

Mansfield campus plans addition to 30-year-old Founders Auditorium

The quality of theater productions will improve dramatically when a 6,500-square-foot addition to Founders Auditorium on the Mansfield campus is completed next fall.

Backstage dressing areas for performers, a concessions area, new restrooms, and an improved heating and air conditioning system are among the features included in the $1.3 million project, said John Riedl, dean of the Mansfield campus. The project is made possible in part by a $250,000 grant from the Conard Foundation.

The distractions during performances have been numerous, highlighted by the sound of toilets flushing and a clamorous air conditioning system.

"The existing air handling system has been very noisy," Riedl said. "What we've done even on a hot day is turn it off because you couldn't hear the play."

Offstage, visiting performers such as the National Shakespeare Company had to dress in a classroom down the hall and walk through the lobby to get backstage.

"That's a bit embarrassing when you get a national theater group and you treat them this way," Riedl said.

Groundbreaking took place Sept. 28, with construction expected to be completed by September 2001.

Riedl said the facility will include an expanded backstage area, including storage room for costumes and props, makeup rooms and a technical director's office. A ceramic studio will be added, he said, and the foyer will be extended.

Last year, new seats and carpeting were installed in the 340-seat auditorium, built as a lecture hall 30 years ago, Riedl said.

Besides theater productions, the facility also is used for arts and lecture events, workshops and seminars, and drama club productions such as a yearly variety show. Riedl said a new scene shop near the stage would make it possible to produce more complex shows.

The new addition being constructed, combined with the existing Founders Auditorium and Pearl Conard Gallery, will be renamed the Conard Arts Complex, Riedl said. The project was designed by Myers Associates of Medina, and coordinated by Facilities Planning and Development.

Larry Evans, director of the Theatre Department at the Mansfield campus, said it would give the program a big boost.

"I think this is great because we sort of survived in theater here by devising a lot of makeshift accommodations as far as dressing and staging areas," Evans said.

He said the Theatre Department has a sizable following in the community and the changes planned for the lobby will make the facility look like a true theater.

"The theatre program keeps getting stronger and stronger and it's logical that we will be adding more classes," Evans said.

With a 50-50 mix of community and theatre performers, and high school juniors and seniors taking theatre courses on campus, Evans said the program makes a great public relations tool.

"It's another good tool in cementing the relationship between the campus and the community, which is an important goal for the regional campuses," Evans said.

Ohio State Child Care Center receives NAEYC accreditation

The Ohio State Child Care Center recently was granted accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a prestigious recognition achieved by only 7 percent of early childhood programs nationwide.

Located at 725 Ackerman Road, the center serves more than 360 children, ranging in age from 6 weeks through 11 years.

"The entire center, staff, and parents are celebrating this achievement," said Becky Wilkins, program director. "Accreditation acknowledges the staff's professionalism and the quality of child care they provide children and families."

To celebrate the accreditation, the center held an open house Dec. 15.

NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous, voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they meet national standards of excellence. Child care centers, preschools, kindergartens, and before- and after-school programs are eligible to seek NAEYC accreditation. Approximately 15,000 programs are engaged in seeking accreditation.

Programs seeking accreditation undergo an intensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators and classroom observations. They receive an on-site visit, conducted by early childhood professionals especially trained by NAEYC, to validate the self-study results.

A team of national experts, who grant or defer accreditation, independently reviews all of the information. When awarded, accreditation is valid for three years.

"The heart of NAEYC accreditation focuses on the child's experience," said Barbara Willer, spokesperson for NAEYC. "The process carefully considers all aspects of a program, including health and safety, staffing, staff qualifications and physical environment. The greatest emphasis is on the relationship between children and staff, and how the program helps each child grow and learn intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally."

According to Willer, research supports the value of accreditation for children. Children's language and social skills especially benefit from the better quality found in NAEYC-accredited programs. "These are critical areas for children's success in school as well as in life," Willer said.

NAEYC accreditation began in 1985, with the first program accredited in 1986. NAEYC is the nation's oldest and largest organization of early childhood professionals dedicated to improvement of quality early childhood education.

NAEYC established accreditation in response to the growing number of American children spending large amounts of time in group settings away from home, and the uneven and often inadequate consumer protection afforded by state licensing of child care facilities.

The Ohio State Child Care Center is affiliated with the Office of Human Resources. University students, staff or faculty are eligible for child care services.

The center is open from 6 a.m. to midnight to meet the needs of evening students and second-shift employees.

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