SBS Research Institute gets technological upgrade

The Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute, in the Social Sciences building, has 12 Windows-based computers and two Macintosh computers with Internet access that can be used to develop multimedia course materials and presentations, said Nancy Henkle, assistant director for the facility.

The institute previously had eight computers without Internet access, she said.

Henkle said the lab is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Macintosh computers were donated by the UA teaching center as a reward for faculty who completed its training course in multimedia applications, and the PCs were provided by the college, said Holly Smith, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Any graduate student or faculty member within the 22 departments that comprise the college are eligible to use the research facility, Henkle said.

"The expanded lab facility will offer an improved level of technology and a special space to develop class presentations," Henkle said.

About 20 graduate students and faculty members attended the dedication.

"I think all of the graduate students will be regular users of the lab," said Saylor Breckenridge, a sociology graduate student.

He said the lab provides convenient access to computing resources and statistical analysis.

Roy Pardee, a psychology graduate student, said he plans to use the facility to access the Internet for researching data archives.

Smith said the facility is good for the morale of the college.

"This was a dark and dingy hole, now it's a lot more pleasant," she said.

Henkle said that the initial planning and proposal for the institute renovations began in the fall of 1995 and were eventually made possible by funding from the UA Space Planning Committee.

Henkle submitted design plans for the $59,000 remodeling project, which were reviewed by Facility Design and Construction and implemented in a majority of the facility, she said.