Roanoke College Breaks Ground on New Science Center
Roanoke College in Salem, Va., recently broke ground on the first phase of a new Science Center, according to a college news release. The three-phase project will transform three buildings on campus into a new STEM hub for academics and research. The first phase of construction entails the demolition of a 1970s-era auditorium building to make room for a $30-million academic building.
The news release reports that once the new facility is completed, it will play home to some of the school’s most popular degree programs and house about one-third of all courses on campus. Amenities will include lab space, interactive study spaces, collaboration space, and technology upgrades. The college partnered with architecture firm VMDO for the project’s design.
“Every future student, regardless of major will take science, technology, engineering and mathematics in that facility as part of their educational foundation,” said Bettie Sue Masters ‘59, a member of the science center advisory board. “The laboratories will provide modern educational instrumentation and infrastructure for STEM research to produce graduates who are highly competitive and in academia and industry.”
According to the school’s website, every student on campus will take at least three courses from programs housed in the Science Center, regardless of major. The project serves as the capstone of a 25-year Campus Journey that has seen a series of campus construction and renovation projects around campus.
The Science Center will play home to the college’s programs in actuarial science, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, engineering science, environmental studies, mathematics, physics, and psychology, according to the Roanoke College website.
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Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at mjones@1105media.com.