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Among the facilities that students are encouraged to use independently are
the following:
Academic Skills Services
Several services are available to all students wishing to improve their
writing, reading, study skills, and competency in science and mathematics. In
addition, these offices support the academic program of the college by helping students who have
difficulty with general academic skills and/or particular course material.
Full-time professionals in these offices offer one-on-one
assistance free of charge to students.
Mathematics Laboratory
The Mathematics Laboratory provides help with the quantitative problem-solving
skills needed to succeed in calculus and statistics courses.
Reading Laboratory
The Reading Laboratory develops more efficient reading and study
strategies, with emphasis on improving vocabulary, reading comprehension, and rate.
Science Learning Center
The Science Learning Center provides practice and training in the analytic and quantitative skills
required in the sciences as well as content-based study sessions for introductory courses in
biology, chemistry, and physics
Writing Laboratory
The Writing Laboratory helps students improve their writing skills through supportive
consultations with writing specialists.
Academic Advising Office
Individual tutoring services are available in all other subjects through the Academic
Advising Office, which also provides assistance with time management and study skills.
Audio Visual Center
The Audio Visual Center includes language and learning laboratories, a
media-based classroom, and diverse facilities for media preparation and
presentation, including instructional multimedia.
The language and learning laboratories support either directed study with
a class and an instructor, or individual work. A range of equipment for using
tape, disk, or network sources is integrated in the laboratories. This equipment can
be used flexibly for listening or viewing, for skills exercises or composition,
and for interactively mixing audio, video, and electronic text.
The audio visual classroom is equipped to accommodate various forms
of presentation--film, video, audio, and computer display. Its use is
scheduled hour-to-hour through the AV Center. Both faculty and students can reserve
the use of this facility.
In addition to equipment, the AV Center maintains materials used in
many different courses and departments. Audio course materials can be duplicated
for student use outside the AV Center. Video material from camera recording
or satellite transmission from other countries can be transferred and edited into
a usable form for classroom presentation and instruction.
Faulconer Gallery
The Faulconer Gallery in the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts and the Print and Drawing Study Room in Burling Library are state-of-the-art facilities
dedicated to the exhibition of fine art at Grinnell. The Faulconer Gallery, which opened
in 1999, encompasses 7,420 square feet of space for the presentation of
exhibitions curated by the professional staff, as well as exhibitions traveling nationally
and internationally. Recent shows have focused on contemporary
painting, sculpture, installation art, and video. Most exhibitions are accompanied by a published catalogue.
The Faulconer Gallery also presents the annual Student Art Salon and
new work by the College's art faculty. The staff of the gallery works with students
in a variety of ways to program the gallery, and brings prominent artists,
curators, and critics to campus to speak and conduct workshops and classes. An internship
each semester gives students hands-on experience in various aspects of museum operations, and the
director of the gallery teaches a Museum Studies course through the Department of Art.
The strength of the College's permanent art collection is in prints and
drawings, although the collection also includes paintings, sculpture, African art,
and photography. In 2001, the College acquired a collection of over 70
German Expressionist prints. The overall collection is a unique teaching
resource and research tool for students and faculty alike.
The Print and Drawing Study Room, under the auspices
of the Faulconer Gallery, is designed to house, preserve, and exhibit works
on paper. The space is primarily for study and research, though it also functions as a place
to exhibit portions of the collection on a rotating basis. Through direct examination of
original works of art in a secure, well-appointed facility, students, faculty,
and staff have access to information and material not available through reproductions. The
space is used frequently by classes, scholars both on and off campus, and students doing research.
Information Technology Services (ITS)
Computing is an integral part of the academic environment at
Grinnell College--a resource analogous to library resources. The College provides
an exemplary computing environment in which all members of the
college community can use computing to enhance educational activities. The
College's goals are for every student to attain familiarity with computing concepts, to
use computers as tools to accomplish educational goals, and to develop
an understanding of the impact that computers have on society.
Access for students, faculty, and staff is provided through approximately 1,000
personal computers and workstations located in residence halls, classrooms, offices, laboratories,
Burling Library, and at off-campus locations. Distributed printing devices include laser
and ink jet printers. All residence hall rooms have high-speed network connections, and main
lounges in residence halls have wireless access.
Linux workstations in the Department
of Mathematics and Computer Science provide an outstanding graphics
and programming environment. These workstations are available for use by all
Grinnell students. A fiber-optic backbone connects all academic buildings and
provides a connection to the central
systems in Lazier Hall and to the Internet.
All students regularly take advantage of the free and almost unlimited
computer access during their years at Grinnell. Also, nearly all faculty members
use computing extensively in teaching and research activities. Student
organizations such as the Student Government Association, KDIC radio station, and
the Scarlet and Black student newspaper have found computing helpful in
their activities.
Each semester, ITS hires 30 to 35 student user consultants. The user
consultants work in the computer laboratories, providing assistance to computer
users experiencing problems using the systems. Student assistants often are
employed during the summer months as well. The summer positions offer a
unique opportunity for students to work on advanced computing projects and
develop computing and consulting skills, working in close cooperation with
faculty members and ITS staff members. A Student Academic Computing
Committee, representing student computer users, serves as an advisory group to ITS.
The committee meets regularly to discuss computing policies and procedures,
and advises the staff about matters affecting student computer use.
The College is committed to having an academic computing program that
is among the very best in the country. Substantial resources are devoted
to building the College's program in quantitative studies, developing
new computer applications in the humanities, and constructing a network
of computing hardware and software resources that supports the
continuing growth of academic computing applications.
Libraries
The Grinnell College Libraries--Burling Library, the Windsor Science Library, and the Curriculum Library--hold some
522,000 volumes, 29,000 audio and video recordings, 22,000 microforms, 541,000 state
and federal government documents, and currently subscribe to 2,900 serial titles in paper and
microform and 2,300 electronic journal titles. Library services, which emphasize working
closely with students as they conduct research and other intellectual investigations,
include individualized research assistance (library labs), classroom instruction, and
drop-in reference services.
The libraries provide more than 400 individual student study spaces, access
to networked computers, a listening/viewing room, the
Black Library, the East Asian Collection, the Latino Collection, the College Archives, special
collections, and other facilities and services including interlibrary loan.
INNOPAC, the library's online system, makes information about library holdings
widely available, and the libraries' website, http://www.lib.grin.edu, provides
connections to resources available locally and over the Internet.
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