New Math & Science Building, with its own
STEM Center, to be ready for Fall 2019 Semester
An exciting era begins this fall for the Mathematics & Sciences at GWC with the long-awaited opening of a building that will house the Mathematics and Physical Science Department and also a new STEM Center.
The finishing touches are being put on the 125,000-square-foot, three-story building, and was opened at the start of the semester on Aug. 26, said Rick Hicks, interim dean of Mathematics & Sciences.
The new Math & Science Building is critical for the continued development of GWC’s curriculum in STEM, the term used to group together the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
“We need to make sure that our students have every opportunity to be successful in the areas of math and the sciences. We’re looking to make sure that we have all the class offerings so that our students meet their general education and transfer needs.”
“We’re really excited about it,” said Hicks, who became interim dean in August 2018 after years of serving as a coordinator at the Criminal Justice Training Center. “We have a marvelous faculty doing some really good, hard work.”
“It’s important because we need to make sure that our students have every opportunity to be successful in the areas of math and the sciences,” Hicks said. “We’re looking to make sure that we have all the class offerings so that our students can meet their general education needs and transfer to a four-year college if they choose to and graduate and become competitive in the marketplace.”
The Mathematics & Sciences Division employs close to 100 full-and part-time instructors and offers courses in astronomy, chemistry, geology, physical science and physics, as well as associate degrees in chemistry, geology, and physics. It also offers lower-division major coursework in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, nursing, business, psychology and other social sciences.
“We wanted to make sure that we had proper labs and classroom space for our outstanding faculty, and the new building allows us to do that,” Hicks said. “This is also going to give us the advantage of adding new course sections.”
Indeed, the new building will allow GWC to add almost 30 percent more science classes and math classes, Hicks said. And it will allow GWC to launch an entire academic track in engineering by fall 2020. Currently, GWC offers only pre-engineering classes.
Planning for the new Math & Science Building began around five years ago. GWC, Hicks said, continues to pursue naming opportunities for the building.
Grand opening is scheduled for October 8, 2019. Please visit
goldenwestcollege.edu to learn more.
