Weekly Update 02/26/2016

→ Arbor Day – Arbor Day was Saturday, February 20. The Tree Board named Oxford College as the “Friend of Trees” for this year. Tim Womick from the Georgia Forestry Commission provided a dynamic program and we planted a tree for Arbor Day. Thanks to Chief Dave Harvey for taking all the pictures.

From the Oxford College website:
New science building celebrated
February 22, 2016

In a ceremony on February 21, Oxford College officially opened its new science building. Under construction for 18 months and in the planning for several years, the building opened to its first classes when spring semester began in January.

More than 400 guests attended, representing every constituency–alumni, faculty, staff, students, and members of the local and university communities. A ceremonial ribbon-cutting followed remarks from Dean Stephen Bowen, Chaplain Lyn Pace, Professor Eloise Carter, alumni Zoe Hicks 63OX 65C 76L 83L and Mike Dennis 67OX 69C, and President James W. Wagner.

Attendees were able to tour throughout the state-of-the-art building. Members of the Oxford science faculty created hands-on lab demonstrations that were educational and fun, especially delighting the children in attendance with such presentations as Adventures Under the Microscope, Screaming Gummy Bears, Making Elephant Toothpaste, and 3-D Printing.

“This is a building designed specifically to support Oxford’s mission and create a learning environment equal to the quality of our education program,” says Oxford College Dean Stephen H. Bowen. “The laboratory and classroom design, scientific equipment and superior learning technology were all chosen with thought for inquiry-guided instruction and liberal-arts intensive education, which are hallmarks of an Oxford education.

The 57,500-square-foot building is the largest structure on Oxford’s campus. It was designed by EYP of Boston, an architectural firm noted for creating higher-education facilities that reflect each institution’s history while also meeting the space and technology needs of contemporary education.

Exterior
The Oxford science building is clad in red brick, used in several of Oxford’s historic buildings, with elements of Georgia Lithonia granite, a locally quarried stone that adorns many buildings around the campus. This is emblematic of the design theme, which Kip Ellis, EYP’s lead designer for the building, describes as kinship: The past, present and future connecting new buildings to old ones.

Evident in the design are Classical influences, such as the building’s central doors and two chimneys. Chimneys are also found in the design of Oxford’s historic Language Hall, but here they are artfully used to conceal the powerful ventilation systems that are integral to the operation of the laboratories, avoiding any detraction from the aesthetic appeal of the building’s exterior.

Gothic/Romantic influences, which inform Seney Hall, influence the choice of the building’s dark red brick and the earthy tones and oak finishes of the interiors. Above the entrances to the building are complementary carvings in granite; above the south entrance the carving is of the leaf of a Georgia oak Quercus georgiana, native only to Georgia and a few surrounding states. On the north entrance, the carving is of acorns of the Georgia oak. The two carvings represent inquiry common to all the sciences and our long tradition of research and study of granite outcrops. In addition, the life cycle of the oak symbolizes the liberal education and transformation of students at Oxford.

Interior
The building’s interior space, built on four levels, is designed to optimize teaching and learning science There are nine laboratories supporting the instruction of biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, astronomy, and geology. Additionally there are three cross-disciplinary laboratories for faculty-student research, to which Oxford has a long-standing commitment, creating unusual research opportunities for first- and second-year students. Six preparation areas support the teaching laboratories and aid efficiencies in instruction.

Informal spaces are designed to promote collaborative learning outside of the classroom and laboratory. On each floor there are spaces for quiet study and also areas designed for collaborative, group study. Whiteboards, tables, and moveable, comfortable chairs encourage students to gather and work throughout the building.

One of the most dramatic areas in the building is a large gathering space on the main level of the building, just inside the main entrance to the quad. Called the Nucleus, this spacious, two-story-high room serves as a kind of “intellectual parlor,” welcoming visitors to the building. Equipped with comfortable, tasteful furniture, it is an attractive area for social gatherings and study. Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the space with light, and doors open onto a large porch overlooking the building’s north grounds. The Nucleus is named in honor of Homer Sharp 56OX 59C, professor of biology emeritus; funds for the naming were donated by Trulock Dickson 72OX 74C, a retired surgeon, who says that Sharp “worked to bring out [Oxford’s students’] potential, to teach us how to think and how to approach the task of science.”

Technology
It is no surprise that, as the most newly built facility on campus, the science building has Oxford’s most robust suite of teaching and learning technologies. The features were chosen and installed with a minimalist approach. Virtually all speakers, wires, connectors, and microphones are hidden from view, and wireless capabilities are used as much as possible. The idea is to make teaching and learning, not the technology itself, the focal point. Some of the highlights include:

Other features
A striking and beautiful accoutrement is a large table that graces the main entrance, on the south or quad side of the building. Built in the Arts and Craft style and measuring 42 inches wide and 110 inches long, the almost 1,000-pound table is built from wood taken from the Oxford Oak, a large white oak tree that had to be removed for the construction of the science building. Dendrologists who studied a large cross-section of the tree placed its age as more than 200 years, meaning the tree was already established on the site when Emory College was founded in 1836. The table was designed and hand-built by Barry Jones 61OX 63C and his wife Paula, owners of a furniture design studio in Highlands, North Carolina.

Just west of the science building is a large, modern greenhouse. This new version of a classic glass house/laboratory features central, computerized controls for heating, cooling, humidity, and irrigation, and is almost twice the size of the Oxford science program’s old facility. The greenhouse serves as an extension of teaching and laboratories in introductory biology, botany, and environmental science as well as providing space for student and faculty research.

At the building’s north entrance a slope in the landscape grade was used to advantage by creating an amphitheater, comprising four grass levels with curved seat walls in granite. These lead down to a focal, stage-like point with a granite knee wall describing the performance area. The amphitheater has full Wi-Fi capability and electrical power, and it promises to be an amenity that will be used by the entire college community in numerous ways–for classes, performances, social events, and impromptu gatherings.

The Oxford Science Building was built through the generosity of Oxford’s friends and alumni, and it opens free of debt. Contributors include the Woodruff Foundation and more than 720 other gifts. Grants from the Harrison Foundation gave strong support to the purchase of equipment for the building.