Portales, NM – September 24, 2024 – Eastern New Mexico University announced today that they would hold their grand opening for the newly renovated Roosevelt Science Center (RSC) on Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m.
Roosevelt Science Center underwent a $22.5 million renovation starting in 2022. This renovation, funded mostly by New Mexico voters through the 2018 and 2020 passing of the General Obligation Bond, helped to create new state-of-the-art science labs, modern technology, and equipment, improving the overall quality of research and hands-on learning for students at ENMU.
“I greatly appreciate the support of the voters for this latest example of a GO Bond project,” said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor. “As a result, we now have a completely updated facility to support STEM education and the research of our faculty. The new Roosevelt Science Center will now facilitate great teaching and learning for years to come, preparing our STEM graduates for great careers in New Mexico and around the world.”
State-of-the-art equipment was part of the Roosevelt Science Center renovation. The new facility now includes a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy machine, which will allow students to examine a material’s molecular structure and allow chemistry students to be more prepared to enter the workforce or go on to graduate levels of study upon graduation. Additionally, a new computer center is featured in the redesign, which includes a program called ArcGIS, where students can update their fieldwork and map their progress. Also, new supercomputers were included in the renovation so that students could be more adaptable to working with bioinformatics.
Finally, the Roosevelt Science Center will house new homes for two popular museums on the ENMU campus, the Gennaro Natural History Museum, and the Miles Mineral Museum.
The grand opening of the Roosevelt Science Center will feature guest speakers, including ENMU Chancellor Dr. James Johnston and ENMU Board of Regents member Lance Pyle. Tours of the facility will be given at the conclusion of the ceremony.
The Eastern New Mexico University Department of Physical Sciences will also be featuring two guest speakers throughout the week as part of the celebration of the reopening of the Roosevelt Science Center.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m. in the Golden Student Success Center Presentation room, ENMU will feature a special guest lecture from Dr. Joel Ager, adjunct professor of materials science and engineering at Cal Berkley.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m., at the same location, ENMU will be featuring a special guest lecture by Dr. Carol Korzeniewski, professor of analytical chemistry at Texas Tech University.
“Our motto, ‘Student success is what we’re about,’ reflects our commitment to providing each and every one of our students with the skill sets needed for their future success,’ said Juchao Yan, ENMU physical sciences department chair. “We believe a key to our efforts is the ability to support the engagement of our faculty and students in research. The renovated RSC will bring our student learning and research training and faculty research to new heights.”
For additional information on the schedule of events surrounding the Roosevelt Science Center rededication, visit enmu.edu/Homecoming.
