There has also been a cost, however, as the Department has lost any common space in which to gather informally with colleagues and graduate students. In addition our office space meets only our current needs. If the Department is able to fill any of the new positions described in its master plan, there will not be adequate office space. Consideration must be given to providing the office space that the History Department will need in the future, and to supplying some kind of common space for group meetings, seminars, and departmental colloquia. A proposed addition to the building may ultimately help address these needs, but it is unlikely to be built in the next decade.
Classrooms also require attention.
Existing smart classrooms should include CD, as well as laser disc and cassette tape capabilities. We also recommend placing more presenters in the classrooms, which could significantly reduce the costs of reproducing visual materials for classroom presentation. Providing larger monitors in classrooms routinely assigned to the History Department would provide a significant benefit to students and faculty. The History Department seminar room ought to receive particular attention. We recommend that the history seminar room be refurbished and remodeled to include a map case and bookshelves that would house a small Department library of faculty publications and journal subscriptions.