“We’re the front door for the University, and our new location in McKissick will make a great first impression on visitors, especially potential students,” said Denise Wellman, director of the Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center’s move from Carolina Plaza was prompted by renovations to the Plaza for the Arnold School of Public Health. Several University units already have vacated the Plaza, many of them resettling in the 1600 Hampton St. building.

About 250,000 visitors came to USC last year, many of whom toured the campus in groups led by student volunteer University Ambassadors who work at the Visitor Center. About two million made virtual visits to the Columbia campus, using telephone, the Web, and e-mail to request information through the Visitor Center.

“The Visitor Center is an information clearinghouse, providing visitors with whatever they need to learn more about USC,” Wellman said. “We’re beginning to see prospective students and their families staying longer, spending the whole day with us instead of flying in and out to hit three schools in one day.”

To accommodate visitor traffic, the U-shaped parking lot in front of the Osborne Administration Building and beside McKissick’s north entrance will be redesignated for visitor parking. University administrators who park in that lot will be reassigned to a parking garage or the C parking lot.

The Visitor Center’s move to McKissick Museum has displaced three units there and will necessitate a move within the building for museum gallery space:

• Media Relations, directed by Margaret Lamb, occupied part of McKissick’s third floor and will relocate to 1600 Hampton St. April 30

• Office of Special Events, directed by Pam Bowman, will relocate to the Currell Annex

• Office of Contract and Grant Accounting, directed by Tony Huggins, was previously located on the third floor of McKissick and has relocated to 1600 Hampton St.

McKissick Museum’s Baruch Silver exhibit will remain on the first floor, and the museum will share front lobby space and ground floor office space with the Visitor Center. A new gallery space will be built on half of the third floor.

“We will be losing about 25 percent of our exhibition space, but we hope to pick up a new audience in the many thousands of people who come to the Visitor Center,” said Lynn Robertson, director of McKisskick Museum.

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