Developing programs to meet the needs of the industries in the area surrounding Grace College is the topic of an article in Indiana Business. A portion of the article appears below. Click here for the complete story.
Grace Grows Science, Ag to Complement Local Industries
Grace College in northern Indiana is taking a leap forward in two areas it says are of great importance in the region. Surrounded by a strong agricultural presence, the school is adding an agribusiness degree program, and a new science facility acknowledges Grace’s connection to the local orthopedic sector and aims to prepare graduates for cutting-edge science careers.
School leaders say its science and mathematics department has grown six-fold in the last four decades to now include more than 250 students; as more enrolled in the program, faculty grew and the need for an updated facility became a top priority for Grace College.
“Students who come to visit…but look at our facility and say, ‘Well, I think I’m going to go somewhere else’—they’re now going to come to us. It’s going to be that impressive,” says Grace College Science and Mathematics Department Chair Dr. Chad Snyder. “We’re going to have a lot of brand-new equipment, and our facilities are going to look so nice—that, alone, is going to attract a lot of students who may have, otherwise, gone somewhere else because they weren’t wowed by what our building currently has to offer.”
The $8 million Dr. Dane A. Miller Science Complex measures 35,000 square feet; about one-third will be newly-constructed science facilities, and the remaining portion will be renovated space. Snyder says the investment includes updated instruments in laboratories and classroom audio visual technology for collaborative teaching and research. It will also increase office space, house a center for lakes and streams research and new labs for a chemistry degree planned for 2018.
Click here for the complete story.