Nell Desmond, director of the Vantage Point, poses with a student during the grand opening of the Center for Student Success on Monday.

This week, Mary Baldwin University (MBU) officially launched its new Center for Student Success, bringing together three fundamental resources in a central campus location.

“We are a student-centered university, and at the heart of that now we have this amazing Center for Student Success for all of our students and for all of us to be together in this creative, engaging space,” said MBU President Pamela Fox at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday.

The Center for Student Success brings together the Academic Resource Center (including the Writing Center, Math Lab, and Peer Tutoring programs), Quantitative Center, and Vantage Point for Personal and Professional Development, in a recently renovated space on the first floor of Grafton Library.

Carey Usher, associate provost and dean of the Mary Baldwin College for Women, said with a mission of providing academic support services in a collaborative environment, the new Center for Student Success “brings essential resources together in a space that is student-focused, dynamic, comfortable, and convenient.”

Faculty, staff, and students gathered inside the new Center for Student Success in Grafton Library.

“We have centralized [these departments] in an accessible location already dedicated to skill-building resources such as research assistance and information fluency,” Usher said. “Bringing these essential student services together on the first floor of Grafton Library enhances our student-first approach to academic, professional, and life-long success.”

In addition to Monday’s ribbon cutting, there have been Rubik’s cube and chess tournaments, a professional headshot session for LinkedIn, an opportunity to meet academic tutors, and more.