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Professor Thomas Budd, Professor and Chair of Biology
Remarks at Johnson Hall of Science Dedication Ceremony
October 20, 2007

Good afternoon and welcome.  On behalf of the faculty and staff building stakeholders, I would like to express a collective thankfulness for this fabulous new facility. – Today we embark on a new era of science education at St. Lawrence University; an era of pedagogical flexibility and evolution, of blurring the distinction between lecture and lab, of robust instructional technologies, and of ample support for student/faculty research. 

We also wish to thank Sarah Johnson Redlich for her leadership in bringing this first phase of the science project to fruition.  Sarah’s funding also made possible the addition of a faculty position in conservation biology and additional new equipment for the academic programs residing in the building.

As we await approval of our application for silver LEED certification let us note some of the features that make this building so special.

• There are 21 teaching labs, mostly shared by 2 or more faculty, all having computer projection and full IT/AV capabilities.
• There is a 25 position bioinformatics computer classroom.
• The entire building has wireless internet connectivity.
• There is a modern vivarium that will be AAALAC certified.
• There is an indoor clean air program where all intake air is HEPA filtered.
• 82% of the regularly occupied spaces receive natural daylighting.
• We have achieved a 40% reduction in potable water use (113,266 gal/yr savings)
• Reduced heat island effect (90% of roof is high albedo, 48% of hardscape is high albedo)
• 18% reduction in annual energy usage ($104k per year savings)
• 50% offset of building electrical load with green (wind) power for 2 years
• 78% (749 tons) of construction debris diverted from landfills.
• 504 tons of excavation material re-used on campus in a ‘berm project’ as a visual block between the  Senior Townhouses and the Facilities Operations storage yard.
• 17% of the building materials is of recycled content.
• 48% of building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of project site thus reducing transportation based greenhouse emissions.
• 95% of wood in building is Forest Stewardship Council certified

This is truly a remarkable building.

 Let me close by adding a personal thank you to Sarah and all the donors as well as to the SLU project team (the 3 Ts and C).  I think we’ve done something good.

Now for a student perspective, I would like to introduce Shreya Kamath, a senior who is majoring in biochemistry and economics.  Shreya was one of several lucky students who spent the summer here in the new building doing research with her faculty mentor – Shreya