Campus Libraries
The Robert Hutchings Goddard Library is named for the Clark physicist who invented the rocket technology that made space travel possible. The Library, with the Academic Commons, is at the heart of the University. The extensive 2008/2009 renovation of the 1969 architectural landmark added 11,000 square feet of user space with additional group study areas, a café, additional computer labs, and extended hours – 102 hours per week for the Library and 147 hours for the Academic Commons, bringing the building firmly into the twenty-first century.
Goddard Library offers four large and small fully electronic group study rooms; individual seating space on all floors; a dedicated quiet study room; 3 computer labs with networked printing; an electronic classroom supporting a long established information literacy program; and on demand in-depth research assistance both electronic and personal.
The collections include more than 600,000 volumes, of which 300,317 are monographs, and 1,500 subscriptions to periodical titles. There is access to more than 30,000 electronic books and over 3,000 e-journals. The Library was the first building on campus to provide full wireless coverage. As a member of the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Clark offers students borrowing privileges at eight academic libraries with a combined local collection of more than 3.8 million volumes.
The Guy Burnham Map and Aerial Photography Library, founded in 1921, is an active cartographic information center. The collection, global in scope, contains 250,000 maps and 7,500 aerial photographs, as well as atlases, journals, globes, map reference materials and tourist information. A depository agreement with the U.S. Government Printing Office insures the availability of a full array of U.S. government maps. The library is located on the lower level of the Geography Building.f
The Carlson Science Library, a branch of the Goddard Library, serves the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. Located on the top floor of the Sackler Sciences Center, it houses selected science journals and a research collection of recent monographs.
Information Technology
Information technology permeates all aspects of campus life. Email and Web systems provide online access to information, services, communication and collaboration. Clark’s high speed data network connects all campus buildings including residence halls; and wireless “hot spots” support mobility around campus. Classrooms are networked and multimedia capable. Student computer labs provide access to specialized programs used in courses. Videoconferencing connects the campus to other locations, universities and laboratories. Walk-up kiosks provide quick network access as individuals move about campus.
Clark students, faculty and staff routinely utilize the Clark computing and networking environment in their day-to-day activities. Students, faculty and staff use email for personal and University communications. The University’s intranet portal (known as ClarkYOU) serves as a gateway to content, communications and web services for the Clark community and provides access to faculty, staff and student resources, including online registration, as well as many other campus services. Faculty and students utilize Clark’s online course management system (known as CICADA/Moodle) to access course materials and participate in online discussions. Faculty and students use the multimedia resource lab to produce the multimedia content for their courses and other electronic communication vehicles. Select campus events are webcasted and archived for playback on demand.
All faculty and staff are provided with networked computers. Most students bring a personal computer to campus. Student computer labs and kiosks are provided throughout the campus, supporting the curriculum and complementing students’ personal technology ownership. Desktops and laptops; wired and wireless - all are supported. The University also provides information and assistance to help students, faculty and staff acquire computers and software at discounted prices. Technical consulting, troubleshooting and training resources are provided by the ITS Help Desk throughout the academic year, including evenings and weekends.
Science Facilities
Clark’s new science facilities include the Cathy ‘83 and Marc ‘81 Lasry Center for Bioscience, as well as the Arthur M. Sackler Sciences Center, which links chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science. The Lasry Center for Bioscience is a 50,000-square-foot building that houses teaching laboratories, lecture halls, faculty offices and research laboratories used by faculty and students in biology and the biochemistry and molecular biology programs. Completed in 2005, Lasry Center has received Gold certification by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
The Sackler Science Center and affiliated buildings include many newly renovated research, teaching and office spaces used by faculty and their students in biochemistry and molecular biology, chemistry, environmental science, physics, mathematics and computer science.
All of these facilities feature:
- Research laboratories used by faculty in their research involving undergraduate and graduate students
- Flexible teaching laboratories well-equipped with state of the art technology, which accommodate a variety of instructional approaches
- Classrooms and seminar rooms that incorporate modern technology and facilitate interactions among students and between faculty and students
- Common use spaces that promote collaboration and collegiality
The science facilities also house a centralized science library, computer facilities including a parallel computing cluster, and a variety of shared-use state-of-the-art equipment including an automated DNA sequencer, an electron spin resonance spectrometer, and three high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers. The equipment is routinely used in research conducted by collaborative laboratory groups including faculty, undergraduate and graduate students.
Visual and Performing Arts Facilities
The Traina Center for the Arts, which opened in August of 2002, is a state-of-the-art facility for the visual and performing arts. The complex consists of a completely remodeled late-19th-century brick school building of Richardsonian design with a newly built hall for lectures, recitals and screenings. Studios for painting, drawing and graphic design, together with a print-making studio, photography darkroom, exhibition gallery, visual resource library, multimedia center and high-tech classrooms, create an integrated environment for the study, creation, display and performance of studio art, art history, music, theater arts and film.
The Michelson Theatre, houses primarily Theater and is devoted to the creation of theatrical performances and includes a black-box theater, experimental theater, costume shop, design workshop, practice studio and classroom. The building also includes a fully equipped sculpture studio.
Estabrook Hall contains additional facilities for the arts, including music classrooms, practice rooms, the George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation Center for Music, and senior studios for advanced studio-art students.
Athletic Facilities
The Kneller Athletic Center includes the Hurst Courts, a gymnasium with three full-size courts for basketball and volleyball; a newly renovated six-lane 25-yard swimming pool with one- and three-meter diving boards; four racquetball courts and two squash courts; a weight room; a training room with facilities for rehabilitation; a dance room; plus locker rooms, offices and conference rooms.
The 4,300 square-foot James and Ada Bickman Fitness Center, an addition to the Kneller Athletic Center, provides students with a cardiovascular area as well as a strength and free-weight area.
Students play outdoor sports at Russ Granger Field. Recently renovated, the area consists of six lighted PlexiPave-surfaced tennis courts and a lighted sport-turf field for varsity field hockey, baseball and lacrosse, as well as a lighted natural-grass field for soccer. The fields are also used for intramural and recreational sports. Included in the renovations was the construction of the 29,850 square-foot Dolan Field House, which provides indoor practice space, a training room, and locker rooms for visiting and home teams. The field house is also used for intramural and recreational use. O’Brien Field is the home to the varsity softball team. Clark debuted its new cross country course in the fall of 2003 when the Cougars hosted the Worcester City Meet and the NEWMAC Championship. Located about 20 minutes from campus in the neighboring town of Boylston, Clark’s challenging course is set within 269 acres of woodland, forest and community park land and includes a combination of wooded trails and open fields. The new course will be used to host dual meets and invitationals. The Donahue Rowing Center, one of the largest rowing facilities on the East Coast, is the home for the men’s and women’s rowing program. The teams practice and compete on Lake Quinsigamond, located approximately 10 minutes from campus and considered one of the best waterways for crew competition in the country. The lake has been the site of the New England Championships, the ECAC National Championships and the Eastern Sprints Regatta. |
