WILMINGTON — While students are at home enjoying their Christmas break, Wilmington College is undertaking major infrastructure improvements that will enhance students’ quality of life on campus.
The College’s Wi-Fi will be significantly upgraded in time for the start of the Spring 2024 semester in January. Also, preparations have begun for installing individual heating/air conditioning units in each room in nearly 400-student Austin and Pickett residence halls.
Interim President Corey Cockerill said these projects are part of the College’s “overarching goal” of continuous improvement to upgrade the overall student experience.
“We are always looking for ways to improve or enhance spaces in which students live, work, study and socialize,” she said. “We’ve elected to focus on high-traffic places that add value or comfort to the student experience. Residents and guests to campus can expect to see several ‘pardon our dust’ signs over the next couple of years as we move through those key spaces with updates and upgrades.”
WC is replacing all its Wi-Fi equipment and upgrading to WiFi6 while also replacing all 450 access points across the campus. George Dimidik, vice president for IT and operations, said the new system will upgrade internet access from 2 gigabit to 10 gigabit. That’s a five-fold increase that will cover continued internet usage growth for the next three to five years.
“The new W-Fi 6 standard provides dynamic increases in speed and reliability, especially in high-density areas like the residence halls and classrooms,” he said. “This will provide greater speeds to each student’s device, improving their experience and ensuring that our Wi-Fi is ready to handle the future demands of our students.”
The internet access upgrade is expected to go live on Jan. 1.
Austin and Pickett, the conjoined residence halls largely housing freshmen students, were constructed in 1957 and 1965, respectively. Austin houses as many as 145 students while Pickett’s capacity is 250. At that time in the mid-20th century, the College’s academic year didn’t usually start until mid-September, so air conditioning — then considered a rare luxury — was not part of the facilities’ infrastructure.
In more recent years, the fall term has commenced in mid-August and many students come to college accustomed to air conditioning as part of any controlled indoor climate controls. The entering class for fall 2024 will move into Austin-Pickett this August in rooms featuring individual heating/air conditioning units similar to those found in hotel rooms.
“Students will be able to set the temperature of their room — and we’ll see energy savings thanks to the high-efficiency devices,” Dimidik said, noting also that the old heating radiators will be removed and windows replaced with new energy-efficient ones.
He noted the project, which has already started, will be in full swing immediately following Commencement in May with installation of the units completed by mid-July.
Cockerill praised the work done by the Physical Plant and Campus Operations staff for “facilitating this vision and identifying creative, energy-efficient, and cost-effective ways to implement these upgrades.”
