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  2. The Participant – Fall 2024

Expanding the Sciences

Strom Tacker stands with several other in back of an orange ribbon at the Nucleus ribbon-cutting ceremony

The Nucleus ribbon-cutting ceremony included ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ President Strom C. Thacker and Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall (center), ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ Board Chair Donald Gould (left of Thacker), Department of Natural Sciences Dean Ulysses J. Sofia (far left), and other members of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ and Scripps leadership.

Members of the ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ and Scripps communities were on hand in the spring for a ribbon-cutting celebration of The Nucleus, the new home of the Department of Natural Sciences of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ and Scripps Colleges. ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ President Strom C. Thacker and Scripps President Amy Marcus-Newhall were joined on the bridge connecting The Nucleus with the older science building by trustees, faculty, and supporters for a reception and tour. 

The new 65,000-square-foot building provides the opportunity to expand science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) course offerings, add faculty, and act as a collaborative space for professors and students across science disciplines in the Department of Natural Sciences. Until the new building’s opening, many classes were held in temporary classrooms at ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ and elsewhere. Now, thanks to The Nucleus, that is over, said Ulysses J. Sofia, dean of the Department of Natural Sciences. 

β€œOne of the most important things about science is to have a community,” he said during the ceremony. β€œWe’re so looking forward to bringing everyone back together.”