New Welcome Center Opens

Campus Communications Staff / Jan 30, 2023

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Columbia College Chicago unveils new home for admissions.

Prospective students will get a new first impression of Columbia College Chicago. The new Welcome Center is being unveiled on February 2.  

The center provides a new, more functional home for the college’s undergraduate admissions team, and gives potential students a more comfortable and comprehensive introduction to what Columbia has to offer.  

“I hope students can have an even greater vision of what their lives could look like if they decide to choose Columbia,” says Derek Brinkley, Assistant Vice President of Undergraduate Admissions. “This space will really highlight who we are as an institution - and show, not tell, what we have to offer to the greater community.” 

Moving a few doors down from their previous location to 618 S. Michigan Ave, the new space provides welcome upgrades including; a new 55-person multipurpose room to be used for daily admission presentations; a new lobby area with space for students and families to relax before and after their visit; interview rooms for individual appointments with visitors; new private offices, a conference room, and a cafe area for admissions staff members.  

This new space allows for more comfortable, personalized visit experiences for potential students and their families and allows the admissions team to run overlapping events and tours.  

The Welcome Center will be decorated with curated and regularly updated artwork highlighting the wide variety of creative programs that Columbia has to offer.  

“I cannot wait for the curation of the artwork! Bob Blandford from the Business and Entrepreneurship department is working with current students to curate the artwork in the space,” Brinkley says. “We'll have the ability to highlight the variety of our programs in this new space, and I think it's going to be really fantastic.” 

The art pieces, as well as some technological aspects, are not yet finished, but the admissions team is still excited to start welcoming visitors after a highly anticipated wait.  

Originally dreamt up in 2019, the Welcome Center was put on hold during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This Welcome Center project is a part of the recommendations from the Campus Master Plan and includes a remodel of the 618 S. Michigan building lobby.

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