NEW BEGINNI NGS Recently constructed Nursing and Communication Sciences and Disorders building provides students with educational opportunities Campus welcomed a new building in the fall. After years of being in different locations, the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department and the Nursing Department were combined under one roof. The Center for Health Sciences offered new facilities for the growing departments. " Our move here has put us in a position to interact more with the other health science programs," Dr. Daniel Tullos, CSD program director said. "It has helped us collaborate more with other professors throughout the departments." According to the professors and students, the benefits of the new building seemed to be endless. In the old buildings, the departments were short on space, and the technology needed for the student s to learn did not exist. The new building had extensive technological capabilities and more than enough space for the departments to share. According to senior nursing major Cooper Riggs, the technology enhanced the learning experience for every student. In class presentations went more smoothly, and students also took full advantage of the brand-new computer lab. The nursing program added high-fidelity mannequins for practice in simulation settings. The students had to react to realistic situations because the mannequins talked, moved and developed symptoms just like a patient would in a hospital. "We spend a lot of time working with our students oneon-one," Cathleen Shultz, dean of the College of Nursing said. "The new equipment and space enables us to do so much to help them with critical thinking." The building was full of resources for learning. Throughout the building, there were areas where students could study or meet to work on group projects. There were also labs where students and teachers worked together to learn using a hands-on method of teaching. Both programs had new functioning clinics where patients came and were screened by students. This gave students the ability to learn in a real-life setting and prepared them for situations in the hospitals. Since the Health Science Program became centrally located, the deans began to work on the inter-professional aspect of their programs. This meant the specific departments under the Health Science Program would work together to teach students about the other areas outside of their specialized major, giving the students a more holistic understanding of the health sciences. "We have a synergistic relationship," Dr. Rebecca Weaver, dean of Allied Health said. "We are here together, and we can generate some good things by being together." The establishment of the Center for Health Sciences was indicative of the expansion of academic programs in recent years. Harding administration increasingly focused on the academic excellence of the school. Riggs appreciated the transition from the older Olen Hendrix building to the new Center for Health Sciences. "There is so much that is better," Riggs said. "It's a major improvement to what we came from." Alex Ezell 79 NEW ROOMS 197 brand-new parking spaces broke ground Oct. 1, 2012 months spent 1 3 in construction:
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