Faculty
Profile: Dr. Howard Thomas
1. You and other faculty members who teach in
the new science facility have had several
weeks to grow accustomed to your new situation. Have
you noticed changes in your teaching style or in the
way students respond since moving to the new
building?
The Science center provides a much more modern lab
and classroom environment than the old science hall
and it also provides many attractive areas for
students to meet. Students are really enjoying
meeting in the lobby area and taking the occasional
between-class naps. The area under the stairs seems
to be a favorite hangout! The beautiful area between
Daniel•Moultrie and Bowie will be an outstanding
meeting place when the weather warms a little. In the
classrooms, the students have really liked the bigger
desks!
The most fun is to show alumni around the Science
Center—when they see our new labs and classrooms
it's jaw-dropping time! Last week we were touring
with a prospective transfer student who presently
attends another college in state. He remarked that
Erskine's labs were much more modern and
sophisticated than the college he's presently
attending—in 23 years of recruiting that's the
first time I've heard that! There is no doubt that we
have a terrific new asset to help us recruit
students.
2. You taught a Winter Term class in which
students helped with the move from Reid Science Hall
to the Daniel•Moultrie Science Center. How did
that work out, and did you hear any comments from
students in the class about this experience?
We have an excellent Winter Term and were able to
move all our lab equipment into the Science Center
and set up all the lab lockers. The students were
quite surprised to learn of all the work and
preparation that it takes to make a lab run smoothly.
I really appreciate the students' hard work and
patience—we had to do most of our moving in a
space of four hectic days!
3. One element of the “Erskine
experience” is the passing on of various traditions.
Do you see any new traditions being created in the
new science center?
As we establish new traditions, we respect and
recognize the old traditions in science at Erskine.
We appreciate the portraits and busts that remind us
of generous people who have made this building a
reality and those teachers and friends who served
Erskine so magnificently in the past.
4. The new building features student research
labs, a new mentoring networked classroom, and a
large auditorium. How have these features of the new
facility affected the way science is taught and
learned at Erskine?
Students will have a greater range of experiences
in science in the Science Center. Bill Junkin and
David Ritland have done a superb job designing a
second generation of mentoring classrooms for use by
all the Erskine Faculty. We'll see exciting
developments in these classrooms over the next few
years. Our objective will be the same as it has been
for the last 160 years: to enhance the most valuable
feature an Erskine education—the faculty student
interaction. The undergraduate research labs in
biology, physics and chemistry are among the finest
in the state and will result in many more research
opportunities for both students and faculty. We look
forward to more joint student-faculty publications
and presentations at science symposia.
