Construction of the Social and Behavioral Science building, with a budget of $10 million dollars, is planned to finish in July of 2015 for fall semester classes.

The Social and Behavioral Sciences building fenced off its parking lot as construction moved to its next phase of the building’s renovations. Set at $10 million, the construction has been long awaited by students and professors alike. While the upgrades include larger labs and classrooms, the construction has left UNC Wilmington faculty and students displaced around campus.

According to Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Bob Fraser, the new features will be “state of the art” for the classes within the building. Some minor updates include new fire alarms, sprinkle systems, LED lighting and insulation.  Fraser said the building has not been significantly renovated for over 30 years—since 1982.

 “Additions to the building include telecommunications, power wiring, and HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning),” Fraser said.

The Vice Provost and Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Stephen McFarland, says the larger labs will help improve classroom capacity problems that many students dealt with in the past. Several students were turned away from classes needed for their majors due to lack of space.

“We are going to be dramatically expanding the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) laboratories that are needed for instruction in that area so more students can take the GIS courses,” McFarland said.

 Two majors benefitting from larger labs include nursing students and anatomy and physiology students due to the addition of two new microbiology labs. There will also be larger classrooms for mathematics that will include computer labs and updated equipment.

However, while the renovation continues, many professors and students continue to look forward to next year, facing their own challenges in the meantime.

“It’s kind of like everything is in limbo,” said Midori Albert, professor of biological anthropology and forensic science interdisciplinary minor coordinator. Albert owns a collection of skeletons and other resources for her classes and labs packed away. The limited space leaves her unable to use several of her materials for educational purposes.

Albert claims the lack of space leads to a disconnect. Without communal study spaces and placed to interact, many of her students are left being unable to connect with one another.

“There is no real connection and cohesiveness,” Albert said.

Several students from her human osteology class complained of classes being interrupted by loud AC units and outside foot traffic.

According to Eleanora Reber, department chair of anthropology and associate professor of archaeology, the professor-student relationship is strained because the offices are in different buildings than the labs. In the past, the close proximity allowed students to come in and talk whenever they needed.

“We have to be in our labs to have that interaction,” Reber said.

For students who do go to the anthropology trailer to consult a professor, having private conversations is difficult because the offices are in such close proximity. Reber shares her office with a student worker whom she has to ask to leave whenever a student comes for a confidential meeting.

The completion of the building is heavily anticipated.