Southwestern Magazine | Fall 2019

“I was on sabbatical last spring, and I focused on finishing projects students were 95% done with,” Niemeyer says. “Students have to write a scientific manuscript as part of their capstone, and there are a lot of details involved in getting that published. Without sabbaticals, we wouldn’t have time to help.” The Garey gift also supports faculty by establishing five endowed chairs. “Endowed chairs are the highest recognition an excellent teacher–scholar receives, and the creation of five new Garey Chairs will enable Southwestern to honor and celebrate its exceptional professors with them,” Secord says. The Fondren–Jones Science Center houses Southwestern’s Summer Collaborative Opportunities and Experiences (SCOPE) program, in which students spend eight weeks conducting full-time research alongside faculty mentors. The program aims to foster a culture of research, support ongoing faculty development, and promote student investigative learning, persistence, and success. “I regularly do summer research with SCOPE students,” Schrum says. “Working in the new space will make the research experience more enjoyable next summer. We can collaborate better and build more of a research community.” A stronger community Building a sense of community and creating more opportunities for interaction was an important goal when designing the expansion and renovation of the Fondren–Jones Science Center. The Kinesiology Department, for example, has been part of the natural sciences for 10 years, but it was located across campus, in the Corbin J. Robertson Center. Professor of Kinesiology Scott McLean says moving to the Fondren–Jones Science Center has been a remarkable and refreshing change. “Having us on the other side of campus was always a challenge. Now I see other members of the natural sciences faculty every day, and we stop and talk,” McLean says. “I’ve never had that before, and I’m starting my 19th year here.” These regular interactions can lead to increased collaborations among faculty. “As a biomechanist, I benefit from being near faculty in the physics and math departments,” McLean says. “I can draw from their expertise in my own work.” 32 SOUTHWESTERN