"This pending renovation offers a welcome opportunity for the College to provide modern facilities in a new academic building that will become an important focal point for the geosciences and the study of environmental science on campus," according to the press release.
Assistant Professor of Geology James Hagadorn said that the new building will provide wonderful opportunities for students. "The building will have a huge impact. It will integrate research and teaching," he said. "Students can go seamlessly from lecture or lab to working in a research room."
According to Hagadorn, the benefit of the new building will extend beyond majors to the entire college community. "There will be lots of study space for student majors in the department and the entire student body," said Hagadorn. "The building will be more lively than the one we have now."
The building will have academic space, laboratories and will also house the College's natural history museum.
Geology major Libby Klein '06 is anticipating the respect the building will bring to the field's study. "It's exciting to have a new building because physics, chemistry, biology-they all have their own buildings," she said. "I think [the building] will help people realize that geology is as real a science as any other science major."
Fellow geology major Charles Hoxie '05 said that he will miss a few aspects of the current geology building, Pratt Natural History Museum. "Pratt will certainly be missed," he said. "There's so much character and history to that place. However, it makes eerie noises at odd hours of the night. The new building will definitely infuse the geology department with youthful spark and vigor."
Andrew Taylor '06, another geology major, said that he is excited about the new building and the convenience it provides for majors. "I think it will be great. The research labs will be closer to the actual classrooms, which will help," he said. "It will definitely be really high-quality facilities for a thesis-there will be student offices for thesis students and new study rooms."
Another benefit of the new building is that Pratt Museum's dinosaur footprint exhibit will be more accessible to the public and the College community. "Right now you can't see any of the footprints without a faculty member or on a tour, and the new building will have most of them on display. It's the largest collection in the world," said Taylor. "It's going to be totally sweet."
Construction on the 55,800 square foot geology building began in June, and plans call for its completion in January 2006.