Samantha Saville
The Paw Print
This year Adams State College received the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) grant. This is a five-year grant that will include several different improvements to the science programs here on campus. This grant, headed by Dr. Matt Nerhing and Dr. Benita Brink, brought in over one million dollars to Porter Hall and the Zacheis planetarium.
This will consist mainly of planning followed by the next four years of construction. One of the first things that will be started on campus is the renovation of Porter Hall. Students who have been to the third floor of Porter may have noticed the balcony across from the laboratories. Part of this grant is going to turn that empty space into a 600 square foot student commons, a 525 square foot research lab, and a 2300 square foot student area that will house several new programs. The research lab portion of the grant will also include new machines like computers, freezers, a thermogravametric analysis unit and potentially an x-ray defractor to add to the chemistry program. Also $5,000 of the grant is going to upgrading the green house.
Several academic programs will be added with this grant as well. One will start this summer for high school students in the valley. The first year of the program about 15 to 20 students will come to ASC and enjoy all the science programs have to offer. This number of students will hopefully increase over the years. The other program that will start is a new kind of tutoring program for general education classes and upper level science and math courses.
The grant will provide funding for students to sit on lectures to get to know not only the material that is being taught, but also how the professor teaches. This will enable the tutor to better help the students. The grant will fund this program for the full length of the grant. If the program is successful ASC will continue funding it for future years.
The planetarium is also going to be seeing some big changes. Year three of this grant a new 400 square foot observatory will be built on the north end of campus. This observatory will have a retractable roof and places that the high-powered telescopes can be mounted and utilized to their full potential. The planetarium itself is getting an upgrade. The planetarium will be getting a new projector and seating. Also part of the grant will allow the college to buy professional shows, about two or three a year, to be shown to the public and spark interest.
With all the improvements already on campus, construction will not be a welcome enjoyment. Once all of these changes are finished however, the campus will not only be beautiful, but student’s educational opportunities will be highly enriched.
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