The University of Guam’s College of Natural and Applied Science began construction for a new multipurpose laboratory.
The new laboratory will be located on the second floor of the UOG Science Building. Construction began in the summer of 2019.
The laboratory will be constructed above two existing classrooms and will consist of one large room which can be divided into two smaller laboratories for both lecture and lab work for biology and chemistry students.
The new facility will be outfitted with new lab equipment.
Daniel Lindstrom, Ph.D., associate professor of biology and chair of the natural sciences, said the new laboratories are nearing completion.
“Right now, the status of it is that all the superstructure [has] been built,” Lindstrom said.
“They’re doing the wiring and putting in the furniture and that kind of stuff right now.”
Classes are expected to be scheduled in the new labs by the Fall 2020 semester, according to Lindstrom.
Arrival of more CNAS majors
The College of Natural and Applied Sciences has seen an increase of biology and chemistry majors in the past decade, according to Lee Yudin, Ph.D., dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences in a press release.
Yudin said that “We’re trying to teach 21st Century biology in a 20th Century building. We just don’t have enough space to hold as many classes as we need to with the demand that have currently in the program.”
Yudin attributes this increase in the quality of faculty that has been hired in recent years. CNAS has acquired a diverse roster of staff members who emphasize the importance of student research which is the biggest success for the college according to Yudin.
This influx of new students was the rationale behind the new construction, according to Yudin.
Lindstrom seems to agree.
“The faculty has no grown in those 10 years,” Lindstrom said. “Our facilities haven’t grown in size even though we’ve more than doubled in size of students we serve and our faculty commensurate to our growth in our number of students either.”
For students, the addition of the new laboratory is greatly appreciated.
“Having an extra classroom for labs or lectures would be incredibly beneficial,” said Seanna Bataclan, a biology major.