AROUND CAMPUS
By Brenda (Thom) Ferguson ’95, Communications Assistant
With a row of gleaming shovels waiting on the sidelines, President Thomas J. Minar, Ph.D., welcomed more than 215 guests to the official groundbreaking of the Franklin College Science Center on May 18. Faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and friends gathered under a tent along Monroe Street, behind Barnes Hall, the current science facility, to witness the historic event. Following the president’s welcome, former campus minister Rev. Leah Parsell Rumsey led the invocation. Next, Board of Trustees Chair Christi S. Fields ’74 recognized the remaining board members and the Science Center Steering Committee members for the strategic roles they played in guiding the college toward the groundbreaking event. Afterward, professor of biology and natural sciences division head Steve Browder, Ph.D., who has since retired, addressed the group. He, along with faculty colleagues, played a key role in reinventing the curriculum in 2011, aligning it more closely with the growing demands of Indiana’s $63 billion life sciences economy. “I truly believe this facility will be a game changer for Franklin College,” said Browder. “It represents our commitment to preparing our graduates for life and careers in an ever increasing scientific world and embodies the principles of the college’s recently adopted strategic plan. This facility will make it possible to fully implement our new curricular vision of students learning science by doing science.” After Browder’s comments, Minar
20 F R A N K L I N C O L L E G E M A G A Z I N E
returned to the podium. “Science drives innovation. And innovation changes the world,” he said. He shared that college archives indicate Franklin College’s second president, Silas Bailey, Ph.D., led the effort to add the first-ever courses in science to the college curriculum in 1852. That decision began a long, dedicated relationship between the college and the ever-changing discipline of science, a relationship that has continued to evolve over time to meet the changing demands of society. Minar said, “The decades of progress and innovation that transpired from Dr. Bailey’s dream bring us here today. Franklin College has throughout its history relentlessly pursued groundbreaking science opportunities.” Franklin College’s current science facility, Barnes Hall, was built in 1927 and renovated in 1987. It is a 30,000square-foot facility, housing 10 teaching labs and one research lab. The new facility, once construction and renovation are complete, will be 51,000 square feet, with 12 teaching labs and three research labs. Total lab space will nearly be doubled. The updated features also will include flexible classroom and lab spaces, dedicated space for student research projects, collaborative learning spaces, improved technology and numerous sustainability features. The construction and renovation of the science center is being designed by BSA LifeStructures and is anticipated to cost $17 million. The college has engaged The Hagerman Group as construction manager for the project. The college has raised $8.8 million to date toward the goal of $10 million for the project, and fundraising efforts
RENEE (KEAN) KNIGHT ’06
New center to continue college’s groundbreaking science tradition
continue. At their meeting in February, the Franklin College Board of Trustees approved issuing a $17 million tax-exempt bond to finance a portion of the construction and renovation and refinance the college’s existing long-term debt. At the conclusion of the groundbreaking ceremony, guests were invited inside Barnes Hall to review renderings and schematics of the Franklin College Science Center, enjoy refreshments and engage with representatives of the architectural and construction firms and members of the Franklin College science faculty. Construction of the Franklin College Science Center began in late May and is slated for completion by Winter Term 2019. ■
www.FranklinCollege.edu