Present condition: December 28, 2006
above: You’re looking at the rear entrance of what used to be a Kroger grocery store. Now it’s the main entrance to the fieldhouse/warehouse. above right: By August 1st, any resemblance to the back of a grocery store will be gone.
10 TRENDS Winter 06/07
The cryptic e-mail sent throughout the university in mid-December didn’t provide any detail. The short message just promised “big news” and invited everyone to a news conference. Curiosity was piqued and theories started flying —was it a major gift? A football team? A name change? With faculty, staff, and students crowded into an Andorfer Commons conference room along with newspaper reporters and TV cameras, President Arthur E. Snyder delivered the announcement: The Board of Trustees had approved a plan to invest $3.8 million in academic and campus improvements this spring to benefit current and future students. The project is driven by the university’s commitment to become more comprehensive and focus on the quality of academic offerings. As Indiana Tech reviews and enhances current degree programs, it continues to explore and develop new programs. Attempting to do this within the university’s budget would take several years. Investing $3.8 million now means that current students and next year’s freshmen will see the benefits when they arrive on campus this fall. “For the past three years we have been steadily increasing our focus on academics, and this investment allows us to accelerate our progress toward excellence,” Snyder said.
The portion of the plan that directly affects academics includes: Establishment of a life sciences laboratory: The university has lacked this basic building block for well-rounded academic programs for decades. That will change in fall 2007 when Zollner Engineering Center becomes home to the life sciences lab. Initially, the lab will support two courses which will serve the needs of students in biomedical engineering, elementary education, therapeutic recreation, psychology, human services and other majors and minors. In addition, courses using the lab will be required as part of the redesigned general education core. “This lab will not only serve our student learning needs but also will eliminate the need for our students to enroll in courses at the University of Saint Francis to complete our majors,” said Dr. Elaine Pontillo, vice president for academic affairs. Continued development of current and future academic programs: The elementary education program, which started enrolling students in fall 2006, officially launches in fall 2007, as does a degree in computer security and investigation. Other programs under consideration are energy engineering, forensic psychology, and more computer studies options for the College of Professional Studies. All