Students, faculty. and dignitaries relax and enjoy the open floor space of WCUs new Health and Human Sciences building

Open. Large. State-of-the-art. All of these, and more, are apt descriptions of Western Carolina University’s new addition to its campus. The 160,000 square feet Health and Human Sciences building was open to the public today for a dedication celebration and tours of its high tech classrooms, lecture halls, and laboratories. “The difference in this building is that it is saturated with technology,” said, WCUs Director of Instructional Technology and Desktop Services, William T. Frady. “That’s the difference between it and the other side of campus.” Whether it is wall-to-wall WIFI, hospital room simulators, or video conferencing equipment connecting students and faculty to colleges across the globe, IT Program Manager describes it as, “certainly state-of-the-art”. This new addition to the University’s facilities is the first to be built on its western campus, and promises to be the first of more expansion in that direction. When WRGC asked Chancellor David Belcher what was in store for the future of that part of WCU he was optimistic. “It’s hard to say what will happen next,” he replied, “but what we do know is that we have people who are talking to us about the possibilities of building medical offices on the campus.” “I think, in many ways, that it will just extend the reach of our University through partnerships. It will be internship opportunities for our students, collaborative opportunities for our faculty working with health care professionals on ground breaking and applied research, and then serving the people of our region. That in the long run is what it’s all about.”