Fall Semester Opens Aug. 29 With Strong First-Year Class, New Science Center, Wireless Campus
August 22, 2005
A $37 million expansion and renovation of the science center, campus-wide wireless computer network and 778 outstanding first-year students highlight the start of the academic year at the University of Richmond.
Classes begin Aug. 29, with new students moving in Aug. 24 for orientation.
Among the Class of 2009 are a world finalist in Odyssey of the Mind, an international creative problem-solving competition; a national robotics finalist; and a member of the board of trustees of Key Club International. Eighty-five are recognized as National Merit, Achievement or Hispanic finalists, semi-finalists or commended scholars. Many were class and student government presidents, and three are All-American athletes (lacrosse, golf and swimming). Others excel at dance performance, acting, extemporaneous speaking, charitable fundraising and karate.
“We are happy to report that the quality of the class is outstanding,” said Sabena Moretz, associate director of admission. The middle 50 percent range of SAT I scores for the class is 1260–1370, on par with last year’s class.
Several students completed significant internships during high school, including assignments with the National Science Foundation, NASA, Global Works, ABC News and Summerbridge: A Breakthrough Collaboration (a Princeton Review top 10 internship).
First-year students hail from a variety of states and foreign countries. Forty-four percent live in Mid-Atlantic states, while 16 percent come from New England. Six percent are international, hailing from 30 countries, including Afghanistan, Argentina, China, Ethiopia, India, Lithuania, Thailand and Vietnam.
In addition, 14 percent of first-year students are domestic students of color, 73 students are first-generation college students and 57 speak English as a second language.
One member of the Class of 2009, Lindsey Cardwell of Evergreen, Colo., is the recipient of a Never Forgotten Scholarship. Clear Channel Communications Inc. created the 13 annual, $5,000 scholarships as a memorial to the 12 students and one teacher who died during the 1999 violence at Columbine High School. Cardwell plans to plant a tree on campus in memory of the student in whose name she received the scholarship.
The students will find state-of-the art labs and classrooms in the newly renovated and expanded Gottwald Center for the Sciences. A center atrium is still under construction and is expected to be completed in mid-October.
The $37 million project includes an organic chemistry lab, biochemistry and neuroscience labs, a quantitative science center, a nuclear magnetic resonance center and a digital biological imaging center, said Andrew F. Newcomb, dean of arts and sciences. Physics instruction takes place in “workshops” where pairs of students collaborate in a unique laboratory setting, rather than in traditional classrooms and labs, he said. Students working with faculty on independent research will find that every faculty member has a new research laboratory. A new auditorium seats about 80.
A campus-wide, wireless computer network went live Aug. 10, said Kathryn Monday, vice president for information services.
“The wireless network, coupled with the 10-gigabit wired network upgrade completed in the summer of 2004, gives Richmond students, faculty and staff fast, secure access to a wealth of resources, Monday said.
Faculty and students are no longer “tethered” to a desktop. “They can decide how they will work together,” said Troy Boroughs, director of systems and networks.
Richmond’s wireless network requires users to register their computers with information services and is not available to the general public. “Richmond’s network isn’t like the local coffee shop where anyone can have access. We take the security of our systems and data very seriously,” Boroughs explained.
Nearing completion is University Forum, a $3 million open-air plaza overlooking Westhampton Lake that will become the central hub of campus. A dedication is scheduled for Homecoming Weekend, Nov. 4–6.
Construction of the $13 million Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness begins next month, with completion expected in December 2006. The project will add 26,400 square feet of new space and renovate an additional 32,500 square feet of existing space inside the Robins Center. New space will include a three-bay gym with an elevated running track, while renovations will significantly upgrade and expand current fitness and recreational facilities. A cornerstone-laying ceremony will take place Sept. 29.