Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine freshmen through junior classes move this week from Greene Hall to the new Overton-Goodwin Educational Wing.

Construction on the new space began in December 2010. The wing, which contains 34,000 square feet for educational use, includes three new 150-seat classrooms and 13 conference rooms. The classrooms allowed the class size to increase from 95 students to 120 beginning fall semester.

“‘Wow!’ That’s what the students are saying as they come in the rooms because we’ve made such a giant leap in in our facilities,” said Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Donna Angarano. “We’ve had good technology, but now it’s even better.  And now we have the facilities to match our technology and our outstanding faculty.”

Dr. Betsy Welles, the Pfizer Distinguished Teacher for 2011 and a professor in pathobiology, gave the inaugural lecture on Jan. 20 in the cardiovascular systems course for second-year students.

“There is so much light, leg room, and the chairs are very comfortable,” said veterinary student Farah Ashraf of Springfield, Va.  “It is a lot more open and a better environment.”

“To have classrooms with electrical outlets and Internet access available at every seat, the type of projectors and document cameras, the tiered-classroom seating with every two rows the same height for small break-out groups, to have the flexibility in seating -- these are opportunities we have not had in our older classrooms,” said Dr. Angarano.  “While they were functional for educational purposes, we now have something that is just so much more than functional.  It’s state-of-the-art.”

The classroom building expansion represents phase 1 of the college’s capital building campaign. Phase 2, construction of the new Wilford and Kate Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital, begins in April.  Opening in 2014, the new hospital will feature approximately 200,000 square feet of clinical, examination, and client-use space.

For more information on the College of Veterinary Medicine’s capital campaign, visit http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/campaign or call (334) 844-6733.

Contact: Tara Lanier, tara.lanier@auburn.edu, (334) 844-3698.