COSAM News Articles 2018 September Message from Dean Giordano - September 2018

Message from Dean Giordano - September 2018

Published: 09/04/2018

As we start a new school year, it is a good time to reflect on how the college has changed over the past year and what new is in store for us in the coming year. We have welcomed another large freshman class which will push Auburn’s enrollment to another new record. The official enrollment numbers will be finalized in mid-September and it seems likely that our enrollment will pass 30,000 for the first time. This record shows that an Auburn University degree is in great demand; students and their parents recognize that Auburn is an excellent value, which is a testament to our excellent faculty and staff. COSAM has a special obligation to these new students, as we teach the core math and science courses taken by all Auburn students, and which are especially important as foundational for freshman students.

With regards to COSAM, construction of the addition to the Leach Science Center is underway, with completion scheduled for early in 2019. We look forward to having all of the offices, research laboratories, instructional labs, and many of the classrooms for the Physics Department then be in the same building. This will make it easier for faculty, staff, and students to interact and collaborate, and will be a great boost for the department. Just as the Leach project is finishing, another major project will be starting. Design of the Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex (ACLC) is nearly complete, with construction tentatively planned to begin in early 2019. The ACLC will house new classrooms and instructional labs that will be heavily utilized for classes in Physics, Biological Sciences, Geosciences, and Mathematics and Statistics, and will be located just to the south and west of Parker Hall.

In addition to these new buildings, COSAM is also welcoming a number of new faculty. The COSAM Today newsletter will be doing features on these new faculty in the coming weeks. They have impressive credentials and I am confident they will help take COSAM to the next level in the coming years.