WRC to celebrate fresh new look with ceremony Fri.

The old, worn furniture has been replaced, the walls repainted and the 1970s rug tossed.

Now that these and other long-awaited upgrades are completed after months of redesign, the Women’s Resource Center will show off its new look this Friday in a reopening celebration at 3:30 p.m.

Bridge Gorrow, interim Women’s Resource Center coordinator and volunteer director, said the entire campus is welcome to attend the event and that a large turnout is expected. Live music and refreshments are planned, as is a surprise guest speaker.

Among the changes made are the additions of newer furniture in the lounge area, more professional workspaces for the center’s workers and the creation of a new conference room. Also, instead of the former gray cubicle walls, the center now boasts yellow-painted, wall-like dividers. Final touches made to the center should be completed in the next few weeks.

Gorrow said the changes are very welcomed after years of inhabiting a space comprised of gray walls and cast-off lounge furniture from the Ondine.

“We provide pretty much all of the same services as always,” Gorrow said, “but with a little better atmosphere.”

The bulk of the changes to the center were made from December to February, with small upgrades taking place over the last few months.

Some visitors to the revamped center say it has a much more welcoming feel to it, and Gorrow said the use of the lounge area and library has increased since the remodel.

“We have been hearing on a regular basis that people really like coming here, citing that it’s just really pleasant, which wasn’t so true before,” she said.

Fifteen student volunteers, student coordinators, graduate assistants and faculty staff the WRC. It moved into its current home in the basement of the Montgomery Building about three years ago. The center often holds lectures and other events, such as the “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch,” which brings members together to socialize and knit garments that will be donated to local shelters.

Gorrow said the renovations have been talked about and planned for the last few years, but it wasn’t until this school year that the center could afford the upgrades.

The renovations, which cost $38,371, were paid for with money the WRC saved by not hiring a new director to replace the former director, Aimee Shattuck, when she departed last year, Gorrow said.

Instead of bringing in a new director, the center juggled the workload by hiring a new graduate assistant, and Gorrow said she herself took on the role of interim coordinator to save money for renovation costs.

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WRC grand reopening ceremonyFriday, May 233:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.1802 S.W. 10th Ave. at Montgomery Street