Stetson University’s new $8.5 million Sage Hall Science Center opens for classes

The new 22,074-square-foot Sage Hall Science Center at Stetson University opened in January 2009, expanding classroom and laboratory space for science education at Stetson by 50 percent and enhancing the university’s hands-on approach to science.

The two-story building, attached to the existing Sage Hall science facility, features 11 high-tech teaching/research laboratories for Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science, seven prep/research rooms, study nooks, a central lobby and Florida-native landscaping. Its architecture is a blend of traditional red brick and modern steel and glass facades.

“Science has always been a priority for Stetson, and our graduates are leaders in the natural sciences, medicine and environmental science,” said Biology Professor Terry Farrell. “The new science center will facilitate the extensive, collaborative research, hands-on learning, and close interaction between professors and students that takes place at Stetson.”

The $8.5 million building was funded in large part with personal gifts from members of the Stetson Board of Trustees. It is equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation purchased with an additional $2.75 million in federal funding received in 2001 and 2002 through the assistance of U.S. Rep. John Mica, for a total Phase I project cost of $11.25 million. A second phase of the project – a major renovation to the existing 1960s-era Sage Hall – is planned for the future.

The science center is the first of four new buildings opening at Stetson this spring. The others are the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center, Mary B. McMahan Hall for music and the Marshall and Vera Lea Rinker Environmental Learning Center.

The number of students studying science at Stetson has increased in recent years, and that trend is expected to continue. The new science center has already increased interest in Stetson’s science programs, with student applications up by 79 percent and the number of admissions up 39 percent this year, said Deborah Thompson, vice president for Enrollment Management and Campus Life.

The Division of Natural Sciences includes 13 academic majors in six departments: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science & Geography, Integrative Health Sciences, Math & Computer Science, and Physics. The average class size in the College of Arts & Sciences, where the division is based, is 17 students. Stetson’s science programs have a strong national reputation for preparing students for pre-professional and graduate programs.

The university is in its first year of a $597,000 National Science Foundation grant to provide scholarships for students majoring in chemistry or physics, and recently was awarded a $50,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to have students and faculty develop computer-based chemistry lab exercises for high school students.

Stetson University Sage Hall Science Center Facts

• Opened for classes at the start of the spring semester 2009
• Two-stories, 22,074 square feet connected to front (west side) of existing Sage Hall
• Increases space for science education at Stetson by 50 percent
• Academic spaces: 11 high-tech teaching/research laboratories and seven prep/research/storage rooms for Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science
• Two study nooks, with balconies, to facilitate group projects and foster informal learning communities
• Central entrance with large lobby and main corridor featuring an earth science and environmental display by the Gillespie Museum, student and faculty art works, and displays related to students’ science research
• Large windows into teaching/research laboratories designed to promote collaboration across disciplines and class years
• Native Florida landscaping in the large green space surrounding the center
• $8.5 million project, with an additional $2.75 million in state-of-the-art instrumentation
• Architecture is blend of modern steel and glass facades and traditional red brick, with an intricate brick-work cross-hatching pattern similar to that seen on Elizabeth Hall
• Designed with environmentally sound, energy-saving features such as motion-sensing lights