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Building A Case For Science
A capital grant from the State of Maryland this spring was a fortuitous beginning to a campaign to raise $19 million for a science facility.
In the wake of the events of September 11 and a downward turn in the economy, State legislators were tightening the budget. Despite Maryland Governor Parris Glendening's request for a capital grant to support a new science facility at Washington College, there was a move afoot to cut all capital grants to all of Maryland's independent colleges.
"It was through the efforts of President Toll and Senator Walter Baker [Class of 1960] that the money for Washington College was reinstated at the last hour," notes Joseph L. Holt, the College's executive vice president. "In late May, the Governor signed a bond bill for $2.575 million."
The current facilities for the natural sciences are overtaxed, and have been for some time, notes Holt. Frank Creegan, the W. Alton Jones Professor of Chemistry and the College's senior faculty member, voluntarily gave up his office in Dunning Hall so a colleague could have an office next to her research laboratory.
"With the exception of the Litrenta Lecture Hall, we have converted every classroom in the Dunning/Decker science complex to faculty offices and laboratories," Holt says. "With the addition of majors in computer science and environmental studies and the growth of the behavioral neuroscience program, all departments are in need of additional space."
The approach to science instruction has also changed in the 13 years since the Dunning/Decker science complex was completed. In addition to teaching laboratories, research laboratories and laboratory support space, the trend now in new science facilities is to provide for small-group instruction in the classroom using a series of "white boards," where four or five students and a professor can gather to write out problems. The College needs to modify its laboratory space to reflect that change in instruction, to remain competitive with its peer institutions. The new facility will address inadequacies in space and instructional infrastructure, provide a lab-rich environment for supporting new and evolving models for teaching the sciences, and will bring the science facilities into compliance with national standards.
"Most colleges with which we compete most directly for students have either recently constructed a science facility or are about to complete science facilities on a much grander scale than what we propose to build," says Holt. "We're not going to be competitive if we don't do this, and do it quickly."
The College is expected to match the State grant dollar-for-dollar in the coming year, and hopes to break ground in early 2003.
To finance the project, the College is approaching foundations, and has procured leadership gifts from several individuals.
Those to step up to the challenge first with gifts of $100,000 were Dr. Ralph Snyderman '61, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University Medical System, Dr. Roy Ans '63, a physician practicing in Florida, Ivon Culver '35, a retired educator, and Thomas Maddux, a parent and College Trustee. Elsie Beachler, a friend of Ann McLain, gave a $250,000 gift in memory of her husband, Donald, and the late College President Joseph H. McLain. The two were fellow scientists and pyrotechnicians. Foundation support has been provided by The Alden Trust ($100,000) and the John Ben Snow Foundation ($50,000). The College received corporate support from Whiting-Turner ($200,000).
The science project calls for a 71,000 square-foot addition, which will more than double the size of the current Dunning/Decker complex.
"This expansion is absolutely essential to the future of the sciences at Washington College," says George Spilich, the John S. Toll Professor of Psychology and the faculty representative to the buildings and grounds committee of the Board of Visitors and Governors. "We literally don't have the capacity in the labs to fulfill our basic obligation to educate everyone in the sciences, nor the ability to provide our science majors with the kind of top-notch education people expect at Washington College. There's not enough room for equipment, and there's not enough space for upper-level labs."
Spilich emphasizes the importance of a first-rate science facility to faculty as well.
"We expect our faculty in the sciences to stay active in their fields and to conduct research, but we don't have adequate lab space for them. And, as we anticipate faculty retirements and the need to make new hires in the next five to seven years, we will have to show prospective applicants laboratory facilities that are appealing and competitive with other institutions seeking to recruit them to their faculty."
Interest in the sciences is growing at Washington College, despite the constraints of its current facilities. What appeals to students is what happens in the labs between professor and students.
"This addition is expected to facilitate the interaction between faculty and students," Spilich says. "This is something we do better than most, in spite of our current facilities. Our students deserve nothing less than a facility that is conducive to learning."
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