Dorothy Cottier Building ribbon cutting

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Thursday, December 12, 2019
Opening honours alumna’s 40-year commitment to Avondale

The renaming of the former Administration Building on Avondale’s Lake Macquarie campus honours a 40-year commitment to the university college and launches a streamlined service for students.

The Dorothy Cottier Building is now home to Student Administration Services (a merging of Avondale Admissions and the Academic Office) with Student Finance Services, reception and Financial and Business Services sharing the space, too. The contemporary student hub is named after Dorothy Cottier, who served as Clerk/Cashier (1956-1963) then Assistant Registrar (1964-1996) at Avondale over four decades.

“She is typical of the kind of contribution our general and professional staff members make to the success of Avondale,” said Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Ray Roennfeldt in his speech. He noted how some buildings or centres on campus are named after academics, administrators or those who “make major donations”—and, he added jokingly, “there’s still time for Dot to do that.” But not many are named for those who work behind the scenes. “Dot says that, except for her first year in the Academic Office, she checked every student’s academic registration, set up registration in the auditorium, facilitated class timetabling and organised the examination timetable.”

Cottier attended the opening but toured the building beforehand. “The persons responsible for the re-design and work on the new facilities are to be congratulated,” she said in a speech delivered by the new Director of Student Administration Services, Laurel Raethel. “It is now a magnificent building.”

And it is a tribute “to the ingenuity and to the skills” of the maintenance team, said Vice-President (Finance, Infrastructure and Risk) Kelvin Peuser. He introduced Property Manager James Moncrieff, who with guidance from architect David Stafford led the renovations and refurbishment. The former included the foundations, the roof structure and a complete internal restructure. “The building’s been extended many times but the renovation has tied it all together to make it look like one building.”

The opening, the first under Avondale’s new status as an “Australian University College,” “makes a statement about our future,” said Peuser. “It’s positive. And we’re willing to invest in it.”

The refurbishment will make enrolment easier, particularly for new students. It not only brings the Student Administration Services team to the front of campus but connects them with Student Finance Services, located on the other side of the building. So, enquiries about admission and units or courses, collection of ID cards and payment of fees can now be completed in the one space. Online self-service stations and an information technology services help desk will also save time. An accessible toilet accommodates people with physical disabilities or reduced mobility. The building also makes better use of its location, with a bank of windows offering plenty of sunlight and views of the gardens.

“Students used to have to walk to separate areas of the building and campus to sort out finance, admissions and ID cards,” explains Financial Controller Lavinia Ontanu. “Now they’re immediately greeted by reception and pointed in the right direction. By not being geographically isolated by walls, we’re able to identify that when a student leaves our department, they’re being taken care of in all areas.” The goal, according to Roennfeldt, is to create a “one-stop shop” for students.

The renovations and refurbishment did not even make an impact on the budget. As a denominational entity, Avondale rents buildings on campus from the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific, which then funds major capital works through its Property Trust. A giving project, supplemented by two offerings—one at Homecoming, the other at graduation—will help complete cement rendering and landscaping.

Raethel says the project is a worthwhile investment that is going to “bring long-term gain to the university college.”

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Brenton Stacey
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Brenton Stacey

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Brenton is Avondale University’s Public Relations and Philanthropy Officer. He brings to the role experience as a communicator in publishing, media relations, public relations, radio and television, mostly within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific and its entities.

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