|
|
Memorial Field House construction continues |
| By
Matt Lockwood |
|
Jun 25, 2008
|
|
 |
| All three floors of the Memorial Field House, including classrooms and a
new elevator shaft, have begun taking shape. |
With renovations to the Memorial Field House progressing nicely, the departments of English and Foreign Languages are speaking the same language these days. Faculty members in both departments say they can’t wait to move into their new digs, which will be completed this fall and open for classes beginning after the first of the year.
The English Department offices will be housed on the first floor and the Foreign Languages folks will be on the second floor, with classrooms open to a wide variety of disciplines.
“I think it’s going to be beautiful,” said Dr. Sara Lundquist, associate professor and chair of the English Department. “When students come into the building, it’s going to be state-of-the-art, and it’s going to show that the University cares about them. I think it shows the University is student-centered.”
The Department of English, with 51 full-time faculty members and 32 teaching assistants spread out over several floors of University Hall, will be housed together.
“I think people underestimate the importance of space,” Lundquist said. “The more we see each other and interact, the more we can create an atmosphere of academic purpose and possibility.”
Lundquist also is excited that the new classrooms will be wireless and have built-in computers and projection systems at the teachers’ stations.
“That’s the kind of technology we can really use. For example, a professor can show various clips of 'Hamlet' to show the different ways text can be interpreted by actors.”
Since the department makes extensive use of films, it also will have a film viewing room with modern equipment, special blackout curtains and theater seating.
The University’s typography lab, in which students can practice the art of making books, also will be upgraded with sinks and an enhanced ventilation system. In addition, the lab will have glass walls so people can observe the process.
Tony Varela, associate professor and chair of the Foreign Languages Department, expects the Field House will be inviting for everyone, in particular high school students and their parents who tour the facility during the college selection process.
In addition to offices, classrooms, a language lab, a large conference room and a 250-seat auditorium, common space for students to gather is going to do wonders for the department, Varela believes.
“Right now there is no place for the students to hang out,” Varela said. “We’re going to have a comfortable area for students to gather and look at foreign language media. I think that will provide more of a sense of family and collegiality.”
The third floor loft, with its skylight, arched steel beams and open area, is intended to serve as a sort of educational incubator or think tank to develop innovative teaching methods.
That can mean teams of faculty brainstorming and working with an instructional designer to optimize how courses are taught, pairing learning objectives with the ideal delivery methods for example, face-to-face, Web-based or a combined approach.
“The goal is to encourage the creative adoption of technology in the learning environment, which we believe will enrich the learning of all UT students,” said Dr. John Gaboury, dean of University Libraries.
The third floor of the Memorial Field House also will house the Center for Teaching and Learning, which offers a suite of academic support services for faculty.
Gaboury hopes the unique space will serve as a national model for creative and innovative approaches to instruction.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
