Westminster Begins $11.2M Science Center Project
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Groundbreaking for the $11.2 million expansion of the science center, new academic programming and the creation of innovative learning spaces highlighted 2019 at Westminster College.
Renewing engaging experiences and revitalizing the campus in New Wilmington, Pa. – two components of the college’s strategic plan – were marked achievements over the past 12 months and will continue to guide the college into 2020, says President Kathy B. Richardson.
Addressing the needs of the ever-growing number of STEM students, the college broke ground in fall 2019 for an $11.2 million expansion project to Westminster’s Hoyt Science Center.
The 27,000-square-foot addition to the hub for science education and research is the third phase of the $20 million Hoyt Renovation and Expansion Project, which began in 2016.
The new three-story wing is expected to be completed in spring 2021 and will provide six new teaching laboratories, three research laboratories, 10 faculty offices and a student collaboration space.
Elsewhere in the center, a $1 million gift led to the creation of Fred and Carol Dietz Sullivan Hall, a 112-seat lecture hall featuring electric outlets at each seat, a new sound system and dual-screen projectors.
Complementing the robust environmental science curriculum, the college introduced its environmental science major last fall.
The new major is designed to engage students who have an interest in environmental issues but wish to pursue jobs in environmental policy and law and corporate sustainability. Environmental studies majors must minor in another discipline, providing them with an additional skill set.
The Westminster College graduate school added a new postgraduate program to its lineup: the master’s of business administration degree with concentrations in general management, health-care management and business analytics.
Additionally, the college created a 4+1 MBA program, allowing undergraduate students in any discipline the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and an MBA in as little as five years.
Westminster also focused on improving educational technologies, making learning spaces more user-friendly and visually appealing.
The college’s new Westminster Entrepreneurship Center is the latest example. Located in the Thompson-Clark Hall, the space serves as a business incubator and creativity lab for dozens of students committed to developing their own businesses.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
