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Science Center Groundbreaking
Daniel F. Sullivan—May 14, 2005
- This is a day St. Lawrence science and mathematics faculty
and students have been waiting for—praying for—for
a long, long time.
- Why, at a liberal arts college, should we get so worked
up about science and mathematics?
- The natural sciences moved to the center of the liberal
arts curriculum to join the arts, humanities and, later, the
social sciences, in the latter part of the 19 th century. Strength
and commitment to science and mathematics education is an old
thing for liberal arts colleges, not a new thing.
- Mathematics, of course, is the language of science (and
for subfields in the social sciences)
- St. Lawrence and a select group of other liberal arts
colleges graduate far more undergraduate majors in natural
science and mathematics, on a proportional basis, than
even the nation’s
great research universities—in our case over 25% of our
students graduate with a major in science or mathematics. We
are critically important engines for the supply of the nation’s
science and mathematics pipeline, and because our science
and math students do their work in a liberal arts context
their science and mathematics education prepares them for
leadership in a world increasingly dependent on those fields.
- Excellence in science and mathematics education, in short,
is essential to St. Lawrence, and essential to the world in
which we live.
- This means that attending to our science and mathematics
facilities, as we now are, is not a discretionary choice—not
to do so, not to make it possible for our students and faculty
to pursue excellence in science and mathematics—would
be a decision to resign from the cluster of the nation’s
top liberal arts colleges in which St. Lawrence rightly
belongs.
- Excellence in science and mathematics education today
involves teaching and learning that is hands-on, investigative,
and research-rich. It involves students “doing” science
with faculty, illustrated wonderfully for trustees in yesterday’s
psychology student research poster session in the library.
It requires spaces that foster and support that kind of
teaching and learning.
- Richard Green, our lead architect, and our faculty and
student design team have given us a building that does
just that—it
puts St. Lawrence on the leading edge in science facilities
among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges and
it comes with an outstanding commitment to sustainable
design.
- This is a wonderful, wonderful day for St. Lawrence.
I’d
like now to introduce and recognize the architects and
contractor on our project:
- Richard Green, Lead Architect
- Peter Blewett - Principal AIA, Stubbins Associates
- Jim Tyler - President, Northland Associates
- Larry LaComb - Chief Estimator, Northland Associates
- And now I’d like to introduce Larry Winston ’60,
Chair, Board of Trustees
- Tom Greene, Professor of Psychology and First-Phase Faculty
Shepherd of this project
- Sarah Johnson Redlich ’82, trustee, and with her family
the person who has provided the leadership gift that has made
this project possible. Indeed, the building we begin today
will be named Sarah Johnson Redlich ’82 Hall of Science.
Sarah!
- Let’s go break some ground!
- Thank you all for coming.
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