“Put science on display so first-gen students see students like themselves doing science. Make the space a destination. Give students opportunities to learn, study, do, connect – all in the same space. Celebrate learning and recognize that informal learning occurs as frequently as formal learning.”
Those were the words of Marie Johnson, dean of the College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, at the ribbon-cutting for McCarthy Hall’s second-floor modernization on March 10.
“We want people to walk in and know it’s a science building – see people and ideas colliding, feel a sense of energy!” Johnson continues. “The space screams, ‘Smart people are doing important things here!’”
About 100 people gathered for the celebration of the new space, which includes three upgraded research labs, multiple teaching labs, new classrooms, faculty and department offices, and supplemental and informal learning spaces where students can study and collaborate. Attendees also saw the “science on display” windows where Department of Biological Science and Department of Geological Sciences students and faculty can share their research.
Several areas within the modernized second floor have already been named for donors who’ve made investments that support the students, faculty, and programs the second floor is being designed to engage and sustain. Current named spaces include:
- The Black Family Terrace (Dan Black and the Black Family Trust)
- The Dr. Steve Murray Biological Science Faculty Classroom
- The Greg Wright & Michael Blyleven Huddle Room and Study Pod
- The Clemens-Knott2 Study Room (named after Dr. Jeff Knott and Dr. Diane Clemens-Knott, professors emeriti of geological sciences)
- The Dr. Mike Horn Biological Science Supplemental Instruction Room
- The Retired Rear Admiral Pamela Schweitzer and Mr. Paul Schweitzer Informal Learning Space
- The Dr. Kenneth & Nancy Goodhue-McWilliams Huddle Room
- The Lynn and Claude Coppel Geological Sciences Graduate Student Space and Biological Science Teaching Lab
- The Phil Armstrong and Tish Butcher Geological Sciences Faculty Office
Nearly $600,000 has been raised through these leadership naming gifts to support student scholarships, fellowships, and the McCarthy Hall project. Spaces are still available for naming.
Full occupancy of McCarthy Hall’s second floor is expected in June 2022, with everything ready to go for students when they return for the fall 2022 semester.
“This building that has meant so much to our alumni and campus will once again be a model of innovation and the beating heart of science – to borrow a term from Dean Johnson,” says Cal State Fullerton President Fram Virjee.
