UCSB officials and students originally involved in promoting the Student Resource Building (SRB) will be on hand today at the structure’s groundbreaking ceremony.

The SRB Committee, comprised of UCSB students and faculty, is hosting the event from 3 to 5 p.m. on the Women’s Center Lawn. Dean of Students Yonie Harris, Chancellor Henry Yang and the building’s original student organizers – alumni Ira Munn and Michael Jackson – will speak at the ceremony. The event will also feature a variety of student performances and a Chumash blessing of the grounds.

SRB Committee member Jessica Castillo, a third-year English major, said the groundbreaking ceremony will allow current students to see what the center will look like once completed.

“Because the center is going to be part of students’ involvement in school, we’re going to have laptops and a TV with a virtual tour of what the center will look like,” she said.

The resource building, which will be located next to Snidecor Hall, is designed to house student support organizations in one building – including the Office of Student Life, the Educational Opportunity Program, the Women’s Center and Campus Learning Assistance Services. It will also include a daycare center, study lounge and multipurpose rooms.

Students will also have the opportunity to share their thoughts on the project, based on the virtual tour, blueprints, and additional information provided at the ceremony, Castillo said.

Construction on the $18 million building began in January 2005 and is expected to be completed by summer 2006, said Marc Fisher, vice chancellor of Facilities Management. Funding for the SRB comes from a quarterly Associated Students lock-in fee of $33.33 that was approved by students in 2001.

Planning for the resource building began in the early 1990s, and students had a role in the implementation of the project, Castillo said.

“It started from students’ ideas for student resources all in one building to make it more convenient for students and create a community between departments,” she said.