Sheridan Opens New Library Learning Commons at Davis Campus

The grand opening of the Library/Learning Commons Building took place yesterday at Sheridan’s Davis Campus in Brampton.

For Immediate Release: December 4, 2009
Brampton, Ontario

Sheridan Opens Centre for Social InnovationThe grand opening of the Library/Learning Commons Building took place yesterday at Sheridan’s Davis Campus in Brampton. Amrit Mangat, MPP for Mississauga Brampton-South, Mayor Susan Fennell and The Honourable William G. Davis were among the guest speakers for the opening ceremony.

The building’s location fronting onto Steeles Avenue brings the campus more directly into the Brampton community. It features classrooms and specialized labs, including a ‘moot court’ for the paralegal program, a new early childhood education lab, and a counseling lab for the social service worker programs. Nearly half of the 69,800 sq. ft. building is taken up by a spectacular 3-storey Library Learning Commons, which incorporates the library, 240 desktop computers, 400 laptop access points and both quiet and communal study spaces. Open 24/7, the Commons can accommodate over 600 students at any one time.

“This new facility is a much needed and eagerly anticipated addition to the Davis Campus,” said Dr. Robert Turner, Sheridan’s President and CEO. “Growth in enrolment at Davis has been accelerating over the past several years, and we expect this trend to continue. The specialized labs and classrooms provided here will enhance the learning experience of students in a variety of programs, while the new Library Learning Commons offers a tremendous benefit to all students at this campus.”

Designed by Rounthwaite Dick & Hadley Architects Inc., the Library/Learning Commons Building is LEED-certified and has many special design features, including:

• Doorways are 39” wide rather than the standard 34”-35” to allow for wheelchair access
• The two elevators feature voice notification systems
• All lights in the building have a strobe feature which will be used to signal fire alarms for the hearing impaired
• All rooms feature light-sensitive blinds which raise and lower automatically in response to sunlight and darkness.

Sheridan received $6.6 million from the Ontario Government in support of this project.