By Gabrielle Beacken
News Assistant
It seems as though anywhere students walk on campus, they can see some type of construction happening in order to further the development of the College.
Campus Town, set to open in Spring 2015, and the new STEM building, planned to begin construction in the spring, are two highly anticipated projects that will benefit a wide range of students at the College.
The $94 million implementation of the new STEM project is possible because of financial help from the Building Our Future Bond Act, Higher Education Capital Improvement Fund, the Higher Education Technology Infrastructure Fund and the Higher Education Leasing Fund, according to the College’s official website.
The key players in this demanding project derive from a “STEM Steering Committee,” headed by Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jacqueline Taylor, according to the College’s website.
The new 88,000 square foot, formal Georgian red-brick architectural style of the Biology Building will include classrooms, general and special laboratories and faculty offices for engineering, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science, according to a Times of Trenton article from Oct. 1, 2014.
“Our outstanding science and engineering programs have struggled with inadequate laboratories and facilities,” Taylor said. “The new STEM building and the subsequent renovation of Armstrong and Science will finally give us facilities that match the high quality of our programs.”
The Times of Trenton article revealed that the new building, planned to be the home of the computer science and two engineering departments, would be physically attached to the Biology Building.
Linking these two buildings will be a glass-walled space named The Forum, Taylor said. According to Taylor, The Forum will be be a “high-ceilinged,
two-story structure ideal for students to gather for study groups and homework.”
“The physical link between the existing building and the new one also symbolizes the way the new space is designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and to provide a welcoming environment for all TCNJ students,” Taylor said.
Not only is the Computer Science and Engineering Department receiving improvements, but the grant money offered to the College will also be spent toward the enhancement of Armstrong Hall, the Chemistry Building and the Science Complex, through additions and renovations.
Students will have to patiently wait before they begin to reap the benefits of the new STEM building, as construction commences in Spring 2015 and completion of construction is set to be in 2017, according to a Times of Trenton article from July 17, 2014.
This falls contrary to a Fall 2007 edition of TCNJ Magazine, predicting that the new STEM project would be completed by 2015. Though this article was published almost seven years ago, the author correctly predicted that the demolishment of Holman Hall would begin in 2013.
This new STEM project has been well-thought-out and developed for several years and students hope it will be worth the wait.
