Degree-seeking students and individuals looking to earn workforce certifications will benefit from the renovations and additions being made to Western Nevada College’s Fallon campus.
Construction began on a new Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Lab in Sage Hall Room 101 in February and is nearly finished. In addition, a $1 million project to renovate and expand the current Biology Lab in Virgil Hall Rooms 307 and 309 is currently underway with plans for completion by January of 2022. Both projects were generously funded by the William N. Pennington Foundation, which has been instrumental in helping WNC upgrade classroom experiences and learning experiences for science students.
“Having a renovated Biology/Chemistry lab brings a new energy to the science programs here at WNC,” said Fallon Campus Director Holly O’Toole. “Students will love working in the updated research space with advanced equipment and the anatomy students will gain an improved depth of understanding with the addition of the Anatomage Table. I am really excited to be able to offer labs in the new space!”
WNC will begin offering HVAC/R courses in Fall 2021. The skills certificate in HVAC prepares students for a heating and air conditioning industry career. The new program will provide the skills, knowledge, and experience for students preparing for in-demand jobs installing, troubleshooting, and repairing HVAC systems.
The Biology Lab will bring technological advances to students and dramatically improve teacher-to-student and student-to-student learning interactions in the classroom. Student tables in the new Biology Lab will surround the teaching station and large, LCD TVs mounted around the perimeter of the room will replace outdated screen projectors so various teacher demonstrations can easily be displayed and seen by students. These upgrades will enable students to engage in hands-on lab experiments and undergraduate research.
“The WNC Foundation is extremely grateful to the William N. Pennington Foundation for their investment in WNC. It’s exciting to be able to offer state-of-the-art learning to WNC students across all of our campuses, said Niki Gladys, WNC Executive Director of Advancement.
The lab also will become one of a handful of college labs around the country to contain the highly interactive, state-of-the-art Anatomage Table. This virtual dissection tool features an 8-foot display of pre-loaded cadavers, medical scans showing pathologies (MRI or X-rays), and more.
This article first appeared in the 2021 Graduation Special of the Fallon Post and is reprinted courtesy of WNC.
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