JCU Undergraduate Bulletin 2005-2007: Student Life & Services -- Other Services

Other Services

Grasselli Library and Breen Learning Center

Originally dedicated in 1961, Grasselli Library doubled its capacity (to 100,000 square feet) in 1995 with the opening of the Breen Learning Center wing. The library houses more than 600,000 cataloged books, bound periodicals, and audiovisual items and offers private and group study spaces, an electronic classroom, a snack room with vending machines, and an open-air reading garden. A 38-seat Computer Commons is adjacent to the reference area as is the Student Multimedia Center. Reference assistance is available in person, through e-mail and online chat, and by instant messaging. The library has a laptop-lending program for student use on the premises.
Through the library's participation in OhioLINK, members of the John Carroll community can borrow from the 40,000,000-plus items in the more than eighty member libraries throughout the state. These loans are self-initiated for a three-week loan period with one renewal. They arrive in two to three days. Resources not available at Grasselli or through OhioLINK can be borrowed through interlibrary loan.

Memberships in OhioLINK and in the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) help Grasselli Library to offer access to 24,000 e-books, e-journals and databases to aid students and faculty in their research. The library provides off-campus access for authorized users to most of its electronic products. More information on the collections and services of Grasselli Library and Breen Learning Center is available from the home page of the library at http://library.jcu.edu.

Information Services

The Information Services Department provides a wide variety of information technologies throughout the campus, including multi-media classrooms in support of teaching and learning; administrative electronic information systems; high-performance networks for computer, voice and video communication; a widely-distributed array of application/file servers; and support for desktop/laptop computers. The department maintains eight computer classrooms and nine computer laboratories equipped with desktop computers and a variety of multimedia presentation facilities; it also provides computer help-line and personal assistance to students, faculty, and staff. In addition, the Faculty Technology Innovation Center has advanced computer systems and staff support to assist faculty in employing the most up-to-date learning technologies in their curricula.

Throughout the campus, there are nearly seventy classrooms and labs equipped for advanced electronic multimedia presentations. Over fifty of these include an instructor podium with an integrated touch-screen control station, multimedia computer, DVD, VCR, document camera, and electronic whiteboard with projection and file-capture capabilities. Ten of the classrooms contain a total of 260 student computer stations. The labs have full Internet access, including the World Wide Web, e-mail, and a multitude of other software packages selected by professors as supplements to classroom instruction. There are also six public computer labs on campus. All sites are connected via local networks to the campus-wide fiber optic Gigabit Ethernet network. In addition, the campus network and the Internet are accessible from anywhere on the campus -- including all outside spaces -- through a comprehensive wireless network. The Banner2000 administrative information system provides students and faculty with many web-accessible records and services.

There is a data port to the campus network for each student in every room of the student residence halls. Students having their own PC with a Network Interface Card (NIC) have access to a complete array of campus computing and information facilities from their rooms, including the JCU Grasselli Library and other libraries throughout Ohio and around the world, not to mention the global Internet in general.

Office of Multicultural Affairs

A great university values cultural diversity, nurtures growth, and provides academic excellence for the entire community. In pursuing this vision, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) promotes a holistic educational experience by providing educational, spiritual, social, cultural, and recreational opportunities. The OMA also develops programs that increase understanding and appreciation of cultural differences and similarities by familiarizing the university community with underrepresented populations (African American, Latino/a, Asian, Native American, Middle Eastern, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender [LGBT]).

In addition, the OMA works with other offices, organizations and departments to improve awareness of and appreciation for racial and cultural diversity for the university community. Through direct service to students, and by providing a positive influence on the general campus climate, the OMA seeks to enhance the recruitment, retention, success, and graduation rates of underrepresented students.

The OMA provides scholarships, grants, mentors, and tutors for underrepresented students. Its staff designs and presents cultural and educational programs to meet the needs of a growing culturally diverse student body. It also assists faculty and administrators in recruiting candidates from underrepresented populations and in providing professional growth activities.