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Biology Professor Fosters Collaboration as “Shepherd” of New Science Building Addition

Thanks to Lance Risley and his colleagues, students and faculty benefit from an interactive learning environment

Thanks to the efforts of biology professor Lance Risley and his colleagues, the new 67,000-square-foot addition to William Paterson’s Science Hall that opened this summer is designed to foster an interactive learning environment that benefits teaching and research.

Risley has served for the past four years as the project’s faculty shepherd, a position originally held by Martin Hahn, professor of biology, before he retired. It is a critical role that requires working to bring together those who use the facility—faculty, staff, and students—with the architects and administrators responsible for its construction. In particular, he brought to the process his perspective as a faculty member who would be located in the new addition, and saw tremendous potential for a learning environment that would foster collaboration between faculty and students both in research laboratories and in classrooms.

“As faculty, we saw that flexible spaces, both for teaching and for research, would give us tremendous advantages,” he explains. “Many faculty who conduct research will now share labs with two or even three colleagues, which is very unusual. It allows us to expand student research. Students might now be in a lab working with one faculty member, and also have the opportunity to interact and share ideas with other faculty and students in the same lab—in essence, as part of a research group. This is a highly desirable educational experience. The students are going to benefit greatly.”

The addition, known as Science Hall West, maximizes the ability of faculty to teach students in sophisticated labs and small classes. It contains 18 state-of-the-art modular research laboratories designed to support undergraduate studies and research and 12 teaching labs for upper-level courses.

"The labs are very well structured," says Asiel Benitez, a senior majoring in biotechnology. "The facility mirrors those at other colleges that are heavily involved in biomedical research. It shows that the University is interested in enhancing the reputation of its science program."

Jesse Gasparro, a senior biology major who is applying to veterinary schools, says Science Hall West is a great learning environment. “When you are working on a project, you want the most updated experience and equipment for the best results and best data available, and that's what the new labs provide,” he says.

The building also features two 75-seat lecture halls: one with traditional theater seating, and the other is designed in a nontraditional horseshoe shape. “The horseshoe shape of the lecture hall places the instructor in the middle of the students, who face each other, making the space very interactive,” says Risley. “This space is indicative of the collaborative experience we are encouraging between faculty and our upper-level students, in which faculty and students are part of a learning community.”