This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSD chapter.
York Hall is well known at UCSD for its Science Lab facilities. These undergraduate labs just got a $6.5 million face-lift. Yes, you read that correctly six-point-five million dollars.It has been a long time coming. The renovations will add 12,000 square feet of space while updating the outdated facilities that were first built in 1966.
The new facilities were unveiled in a ribbon cutting ceremony about two weeks ago. The laboratories were dedicated by Suresh Subramani, Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, Mark Thiemens, Dean of the Division of Physical Sciences, and Bill McGinnis, Dean of the Division of Biological Sciences. It is all part of UCSD’s new initiative to help students graduate within 4 years.
A lot of us science majors are familiar with the horrendous waitlists for science lab. It is first pass pick or not an option due to its demand. These classes are required for our majors but for far too long they have been severely impacted. This is a step in the right direction to make sure students don’t get held back on their four year plans simply because they couldn’t get into a class. Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla stately directly that, “This high priority project is a prime example of how we are fulfilling our vision as a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented public university. The completion of this renovation enables us to continue to provide our students with a world-class education and accelerate the path to graduation.”
Four labs in total are being renovated. The first two that have been finished are designated for Organic Chemistry and General Chemistry introduction labs that are a common major required course. They will allow 675 more enrollments per year. While the third will allow 645 more enrollments per year for a highly impacted lab: Biochemical Techniques. The last in the installments will unveil next year and hold 1,440 students per year.
So to all my science ladies – if you had been holding off on a lab because you hadn’t previously had an enrollment time early enough to get in, check again this coming quarter because there will be more spots!