Changes continue on Earlham campus

• Earlham College in Richmond opened its new Center for Science and Technology last week.
• It’s the latest development in a more than $70 million campus investment over the past few years.
• More work is planned in 2015-16 as well.

The Earlham College campus keeps changing.

Its newest building — the Center for Science and Technology — opened with the beginning of classes last week.

The $16.6 million, 42,000-square-foot home of the college’s math, physics and computer science departments is the latest in a series of new and renovated facilities in the past few years.

Since 2013, Earlham has done complete overhauls on two buildings, added a baseball stadium, redone the football field and added a new center for visual and performing arts.

“All of these projects represent a more than $70 million investment in the future of the college,” said Brian Zimmerman, director of media relations. “We’re investing in the student experience.”

Part of that experience is collaborative and multidisciplinary learning. The new science center or CST is designed to facilitate that.

There are classrooms and study spaces of all sizes and shapes. A table that looks like a booth in a diner is tucked into a niche in a hallway. There are student desks with wheels, tables with whiteboard tops that can be scribbled on, floor-to-ceiling blackboards and sliding glass partitions that can reconfigure a room at a moment’s notice.

Kristin Muterspaw graduated from the college in May with a degree in computer science but stayed on as a postgraduate just so she could have a chance to work in the building.

What does she think of the CST?

“It’s incredible,” Muterspaw said. “There are no words.”

Her delight is not surprising. “The new labs in the CST are the first purpose-built facilities for computer science at Earlham,” said Charlie Peck, professor of computer science and a 1984 graduate of the college, in a press release.

“The future of science education is much more interactive, collaborative and experientially rich than what we experienced as undergraduates,” Peck said. “We believe this building speaks to the future.”

And more is planned for the campus this year.

A $1.5 million renovation of Runyan Center will convert the former art department — now in the Center for Visual and Performing Arts — into an two-story open-air lounge with couches, a performance stage, computer nook and game room.

“Until now, Earlham hasn’t really had a large space designed specifically for student engagement, so I’m really excited that student groups will now have a variety of spaces to choose from,” said junior and student government head Laura Honsig in a press release.

“I can’t even remember all the times I’ve been working in a group and wished we had this kind of space to go to. I think the collaborative philosophy behind the layout of this space is perfect,” Honsig said.

Zimmerman said work on the renovation will begin “any day now” and is expected to be finished early in 2016.

Plans also are in the works for a soccer complex, a road that will allow easy access to all areas of the campus and a new look for the college’s main entrance on National Road West.