A new center for science, education and technology at Cabrini College will provide interaction for students and industry

Cabrini College, located in suburban Philadelphia, is making a great contribution to the state’s bioscience community and to the development of science teachers who will educate the next generation of ground-
breaking researchers.

Currently under construction on the Radnor, Pa., campus of Cabrini College, the Center for Science, Education, and Technology (SET) will serve as an academic centerpiece at Cabrini, allowing the college to set a new standard for higher education in preparing the next generation to meet the challenges and needs of a rapidly changing world. The Center for Science, Education and Technology will house the most technologically advanced equipment, laboratories and classrooms available. The plans for the $18.5 million building developed from the rising demand in the technology, science and education fields. The three-story, 61,000 square foot building will house a wide variety of instructional and research space, including a 60-seat “smart” lecture hall, and state-of-the-art laboratories. An observation deck and new telescopes for astronomy will occupy the roof.

The Center will also enable partnerships with biotech, pharmaceutical and technology firms through workforce development and training initiatives geared to address current job skills shortages. In addition, the Center for Science, Education and Technology will offer affiliate space to the biotech and science communities for cooperative research, staff support and other innovations allowing Cabrini students and faculty, and staff from these companies to learn together and address real-world issues.

Cabrini College is at the forefront in designing models and innovative programs geared to preparing teachers for tomorrow. The interdisciplinary nature of the Center for Science, Education and Technology will allow the blended teaching of three interconnected disciplines (science, computers, education) creating better-educated graduates and workers. These programs ensure that the educators who teach children create a cycle of strong teaching and learning in the critical areas of math and science. This innovative programming, using a model educational classroom that integrates learning and learning how to teach, is the brainchild of Cabrini science faculty. By overhauling its science curriculum for education majors, Cabrini College will equip teachers with specialized knowledge needed to train our future generations.

“The Center for Science, Education and Technology will provide students with a values-based education as well as opportunities to develop creative and collaborative programs that will have great impact on the people, schools, and workplaces in the Philadelphia region and beyond,” said Dr. Antoinette Iadarola, president of Cabrini College.

The unique model of integrating learning with learning how to teach was the brainchild of the Cabrini science faculty. “As far as we know, there are no other courses out there like this one,” says Boyd. “We’ve presented it at state and national meetings, and we’re constantly asked for more information. But before we share it, we want to get the bugs worked out.”

The course came about after a survey of Cabrini alumni found many graduates avoid teaching science because they don’t feel prepared. “We want our students to have the confidence and knowledge to teach science effectively,” said Kimberly Boyd, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology. “The course will be required for all education majors.”

Students will learn how to design science curricula, complete with experiments and projects, and ways to do the projects with and without a budget. They’ll also learn how to teach science to students with various levels of ability, so special needs children aren’t left behind. And, they’ll learn in a setting as close to the real thing as possible: a specially designed and equipped laboratory-classroom in SET.

“Our students will be responsible for making the space look like an elementary schoolroom,” says Boyd. “There will be windows, but there’ll also be plenty of wall space for posters, graphs and charts. They’ll have access to numerous displays and models, and they’ll work with child-size lab equipment, which we’ll teach them how to order, use and repair. And there will be three small biome systems, or habitats, positioned around the room: a desert, a rainforest and a greenhouse. We’ll also have some live animals, so the students know what is involved in keeping them.”

Cabrini has developed a biology advisory board to discuss issues related to the new Biotechnology major, including curriculum development, determining skills needed for entry-level positions and graduate schools, recruitment, internship placements, seminar speakers, advising and SET building planning. The members include:

Mr. Fritz Bittenbender, President, Pennsylvania Bio
Dr. Kimberly Boyd, Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Lisa Chirlian, Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Narendra Chirmule, Director, Clinical Assays R&D, Merck & Co.
Dr. Michael Ciocci, Senior Scientist (Director of Analytical Methods Development), Immunicon Corporation
Dr. David Dunbar, Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Sherry Fuller-Espie (Chair), Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Jonnie Guerra, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Cabrini College
Dr. David Hakes, Director, Research, Neose Technologies
Dr. Antoinette Iadarola, President, Cabrini College
Dr. James Kane, Director - Archiving and Fermentation, GlaxoSmithKline
Dr. Karla Kopec, Research Scientist, Neurobiology, Cephalon, Inc.
Dr. Dennis Kraichely, Research Scientist and Group Leader  Mammalian Cell Expression Technologies, Centocor, Inc.
Dr. Chris Kule, Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Nelson Landmesser, Research Scientist, Chemical Process Development, Cephalon, Inc.
Dr. Linda R. Rehfuss Montgomery County Community College
Dr. Joseph Smith, Science Department, Cabrini College
Dr. Barry F. Stein, Executive Vice President and Corporate Secretary, Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Dr. Theodore Torphy, Corporate Vice President for Science & Technology, Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson

For more information on affiliate space rental, visit www.Cabrini.edu/science and click onto Biotechnology Advisory Board and then click onto Research Space Available, or contact Stephen Lightcap, vice president for finance at (610) 902-8275.      

About Cabrini College:

Cabrini College, nestled in the heart of the Philadelphia Main Line suburb of Radnor amidst a 110-acre wooded campus, is a Catholic, coeducational, residential, undergraduate college founded in 1957 by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC).  The College, which offers programs of study in liberal arts and professional studies, is equally committed to residential, commuter, graduate and adult studies.  Nationwide, the College was one of the first institutions of higher learning to implement community service into its curriculum in 1989, and was the first in Pennsylvania to require community service of all its students in 1991.