New and returning Samford University students will find the school’s beautiful Georgian-Colonial campus embellished this fall with towering cranes and the occasional detour sign.
“This academic year is going to be dominated by construction,” said Samford President Thomas E. Corts. “The new science center is already under way. It is the largest and most expensive single project Samford has ever undertaken,” he said.
The new $23 million-plus science building will provide about 90,000 square feet of space for the biology, chemistry and physics departments. The facility will contain classrooms, research labs, lab support space, administrative offices and other related areas necessary to support 35 total labs. It will also include a conservatory and a 60-seat planetarium.
As the science building construction hits full stride across from Reid Chapel, so does planning for other projects.
“At this very moment, architects are working furiously to develop plans necessary for construction of the new University Store, and the addition to the kitchen of the university dining hall,” said Corts. “Next summer (2001), the entire Ralph W. Beeson University Center is slated for remodeling and renewal.
“It is an exciting time to be at Samford. The first academic year of the new millennium promises to be one of increased vitality,” he said
Some 4,500 students are expected to begin classes Aug. 28. This fall’s 28 new full-time faculty members include Carol Ann Vaughn, who has been appointed director of Samford’s new Christian Women’s Leadership Center. The center, a cooperative effort of Samford and Woman’s Missionary Union, will prepare women for leadership roles in human services and helping professions in business and education, and in church work.
April L. Robinson is new this fall as director of Student Ministries. The 1993 Samford graduate will speak at a special campus wide worship service on Aug. 29.
New academic programs include the availability of a flexible schedule for Cumberland School of Law students to complete their degrees, and the launch of an LL.M/S.J.D. program in law, religion and culture. The “flex” program will allow law students a maximum of five years to complete their studies. The program is expected to appeal to nontraditional students such as career professionals or parents of school age children.
The new LL.M./S.J.D. degree at Cumberland offers intensive study in the related dimensions of law, religion and culture. Candidates for the degree will receive grounding in five subjects: church and state relations in American constitutional law, legal and religious history, jurisprudence and the sociology of religion and theology.
This academic year at Samford will see the implementation of a $750,000 grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to develop reliable ways to document the scholarship that goes into creating certain college courses and to measure the effectiveness of these courses. The study will look at what goes into designing and teaching courses that use the Problem-Based Learning technique.
Followers of Samford’s athletic program will notice a sleek new Bulldog logo in use by the eight men’s teams and nine women’s teams. A new Web site, samfordsports.com, will offer sports news, updated statistics and ticket information. Fans can use the Internet to listen to Samford football and men’s basketball games, which will also be carried on WVSU 91.1 FM radio.
The Seibert Stadium track is being expanded to eight lanes, making it suitable for major NCAA events. Field event surfaces are also being upgraded.
The Bulldog football schedule begins with an away game at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga on Aug. 31, followed by a home opener against Murray State. Other upcoming Samford dates of interest are Family Weekend Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and Homecoming Nov. 4.
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