Welcome back to a new year at Rensselaer. I extend a special welcome to students who are new to the Institute.
A new year always brings a sense of hope and renewal. For those of you who are returning to the Troy campus, this presents an opportunity for you to take stock of what you accomplished last year and to set new goals. If you are beginning your adventure at Rensselaer, I am sure you are still in the process of getting your bearings, learning your way around campus, meeting the rigorous demands of your classes, and exploring the myriad clubs, organizations, sports activities, and community service options available to you.
While you were away this summer, Rensselaer was busy renewing itself as well. Development of the south campus is in full swing, and a new excitement about the renaissance of Rensselaer is in the air. The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies has been taking shape on the south campus along 15th Street. Construction is on track for the Fall 2004 opening of the building, which will usher in a new age of research at the Institute. Meanwhile, the nearby 510-car parking garage will open in the spring. We will break ground later this week for the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, also on the south campus. This leading-edge building will be the center where Rensselaer’s academic, technological, and cultural worlds intersect—and it will provide much-needed space for artistic performance and social interaction.
Our construction, upgrade, and renovation projects are firmly student-centered. As many of you know, Academy Hall on the south campus has been completely renovated and now serves as an integrated student services center. The building houses the Dean of Students Office and its programs, as well as Student Health Services and the Office of the First-Year Experience—and soon will be joined by the Office of Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Bursar, and all of the Archer Center for Student Leadership. We wanted to create a “one-stop shopping” experience for student-related services, to make your visits to these offices more convenient and time-efficient.
If you live on the Troy campus, you have noticed the many renovations and upgrades to our residence halls. These are part of a $32 million investment that the Institute has made over the past several years to raise the quality of life on the campus for all. Rensselaer is committed to creating an optimal environment in which you can live, study, and have fun. Our goal also is to transform your residence halls into places of living and learning, by creating spaces where you can gather to work in teams, study in groups, and take classes. In Nason Hall, for instance, you can attend a class in economics or in humanities. Or, residents can take advantage of supplemental instruction in the evening, offered through the Advising and Learning Assistance Center. In the revitalized freshman residence halls, you also will find programs offered by the Office of the First-Year Experience.
I know that upgrading and expanding our athletic facilities is important to many of you. This need is a serious concern for the Institute as well. I admire the fact that so many Rensselaer students are committed to physical fitness and enjoy taking part in sports—certainly, this interest should be encouraged and supported, and I know that you have made do with our aging and limited athletic facilities. Therefore, as part of the transformation of the Troy campus, we plan to renovate our athletic facilities and fields, and to build new facilities for the future. This project currently includes the returfing of Harkness Field and the turfing of lower Renwyck Field, which also will be outfitted with new high-intensity lights and bleachers. A very exciting development is a locker room, planned sports training, and classroom facility on the east campus, which now is in the design stages. We plan to begin construction on this much-needed facility by the end of this academic year.
These are all exciting and transformative activities for Rensselaer—and I realize they create day-to-day inconveniences for all who travel to the campus. The parking shuttle system instituted last fall proved to be a popular way to get around campus, and I continue to encourage you to take advantage of it. As always, I thank you for your continued patience with the disruptions that accompany construction. We are building for your future—so that you can change the world.
