Inquiry | Discovery | Entrepreneurship | Access
The IDEA Center, a new 103,000-square-foot science center, is Austin College’s top capital funding priority because it addresses the No. 1 need on campus: increased learning space and modernized facilities for the sciences. The new facility will include 32 advanced laboratory-classrooms, 16 classrooms, 40 offices and a 108-seat auditorium and be LEED-certified for its environmentally friendly design.
With a high level of undergraduate research activity and one of the finest pre-medical programs in the nation, our science program has grown to the point that a new building must be constructed to meet the needs of our students and faculty.
Your gift or pledge to the IDEA Center will help Austin College build a multidisciplinary center that offers students an exciting, hands-on experience in the sciences.
Did you know?
- Enrollments in biology and chemistry have doubled since the last science facility was constructed in 1965.
- The IDEA Center will increase classroom space on campus by 50 percent.
- The average age of current science facilities is 70 years old.
- From 2002 to 2007, almost 75 percent of students in the sciences were involved in some type of student-faculty research — compared to 25 percent from 1997 to 2001.
WHY: Inquiry, Discovery, Entrepreneurship, Access
Inquiry: Deeply committed to providing students with life changing opportunities, Austin College has long attracted students eager for a hands-on, inquiry based liberal arts education. At the core of this is an outstanding track record in the natural sciences, mathematics, and more recently computer science.
Discovery: Science education and the process of discovery it fosters is central to the liberal arts. We are committed to developing students who will go on to career success in the health professions and in basic scientific research. But we are also committed to ensuring that students who plan to pursue career in such diverse fields as business, politics, public health, and ministry are equipped to understand the uses of new discoveries in science and technology. The IDEA Complex offers high-impact learning spaces to support scientific learning for students in all fields.
Entrepreneurship: Real economic growth is fueled by scientific innovation. We believe that every Austin College student needs to understand the technologies that will ground tomorrow’s entrepreneurial opportunities.
Access: Austin College is uniquely equipped to provide interdisciplinary scientific education to students from a variety of economic and ethnic backgrounds. More than half of Austin College graduates in scientific fields are women and more than 30 percent are minorities. Austin College has been the choice for undergraduate education for students of a broad range of financial means. Strong language programs, high study abroad participation, the student-faculty mentor program, emphasis on collaboration, and a dedication to increasing scholarship support make an Austin College education accessible and appealing to a broad student demographic.
