February 20, 2018
The New Science Center
Erica Saldana
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
Construction for the new Lillard Science Center is well underway, providing many opportunities for students studying STEM subjects. The addition of the new building, thanks to the $43 million donation from the Lillard Family and alumni of the college, will allow for more classrooms and laboratories, making the new Lillard Science center a 130-square-foot facility. This new facility will create environments more similar to the environments students would want to pursue as future career paths and a place to grow as a scientist. The plans for the science center started a few years ago and are ahead of schedule, with the completion
date set for the fall of 2018.
The Lillard family and alumni envisioned a better place for students to conduct research. With the help of the new state-of-the-art facilities, students will be more apt to experiencing larger scale research projects, as well as working with equipment that will prepare them for
graduate education and the professional world.
The new building will also house two new majors, allowing students to have a wider range of scientific studies they can pursue at the college: biochemistry and molecular biology.
Many first-year students majoring in STEM subjects express feelings of excitement when being interviewed about the new science center. One student remarked an interest in being able to use some of the new instruments used by the scientific community while still in undergraduate studies. First-year science student Leslie Gonzales ’21 is excited for the change in lab workflow as there will be “better work stations for labs. [However, it will feel the] same in lecture.” The new science building is giving students so many new opportunities and can expand the options students have for possible careers.
Some students not in the STEM field have mixed feelings about the renovation. A few English students have made jokes that while there is a state-of-the-art facility being built, there are only two bathrooms in Carnegie hall, the neighboring classroom building. However, these jokes are simply that. There are many advantages the new facility will provide to non-science majors as well.
The new Lillard Science Center will bring new learning experiences to students and will allow them to better understand the various scientific fields. The thought of the new science center seems to bring excitement to many students. The students and faculty are eager to reap the benefits of the new science center as its completion draws near and the building officially opens for business.
References
Coming 2018-2019 school year: New science center. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2018, from https://www.lakeforest.edu/about/ourcampus/sciencecenter.php
Biochemistry and molecular biology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2018, from https://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/programs/biochemistry-molecular-biology/