What can be accessed from your residence hall room is incredible, says Ainlay. He reports that many classes have now moved to electronic syllabi and notes that students can obtain background information on a course before they ever set foot in the classroom. The decision to undertake a new building project came after careful examination of current and future needs of the College and a study of the options for dealing with potential growth issues. A need for space drove the development of the project, says Ainlay. There is hardly a building on campus that can be added to.
Renovations are complete on all existing buildings.
He notes that departments are currently scattered across campus and situated according to space availability. In order to create a sense of cohesion on campus and meet the needs of students, new construction was the only answer. The first stages of the project have presented challenges to faculty and staff as well as to the construction crew. Although eager to begin the project soon after the May groundbreaking, the construction team allowed faculty time to finish year-end grading before starting site preparation and the demolition process. Ainlay reports that five faculty members from each floor of the current buildings had to relocate their offices.