TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
Council, Texarkana College Foundation, Ark-La-Tex 100 Club, and as head usher at Williams Memorial United Methodist Church. One of JHR’s legacies to TC was to encourage continuous improvement of campus operations, facilities, and student success. Dr. Catherine Howard, Dean of STEM at TC, explained that before JHR left as president, he ensured that faculty would be included in the planning and implementation of the STEM building project (which is uncommon at other higher education institutions). In June 2018, the TC STEM faculty was invited to tour various campuses across the state to get ideas, inspiration, and take notes on best practices for this project. They looked for things like microbiology lab vent types, chemistry bench configurations, types of plumbing needed, the safest gas systems to have, shelving for backpacks, chair heights, fume hoods, vented chemical storage, and lab classroom furniture arrangements. Every detail of the STEM complex was personally influenced by TC’s STEM division faculty. The STEM Complex design and construction was challenging because it included remodeling and redesigning four buildings from the 1960s. Architect David Lamb masterfully integrated the needs of students and faculty into a new complex that includes
a biology building, chemistry building, math building, and a beautiful atrium with spacious study areas for students. The STEM Complex has 11 state-of- the-art labs, 12 classrooms, 21 offices, three faculty workrooms, and three student lounge areas, totaling 60,882 square feet. It also includes all brand-new equipment, such as autoclaves, ovens, water baths, models, probes, etc. Beautiful artwork is displayed throughout the complex, representing the unique elements associated with STEM. On the first day of fall classes, TC students walked through the full complex for the first time with wide eyes focused on the grandeur of the buildings, grinning ear- to-ear at the special details displayed all throughout the complex. Savannah Murphy, TC Student Government Association President, and biology major, said, “As a biology major, I’ve spent most of my days at TC in the STEM area. I had already fallen in love with the artwork and themes throughout the biology and chemistry buildings, and the atrium connector is stunning to me, different from the rest. The architecture and natural light the ceiling provides is inspiring and motivating. It acts as the perfect resource to supplement my studies and time spent in science at TC.”
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