Q & A with Eric Ohrn ’07, Assistant Professor of Economics

Jun 19, 2018

The Humanities and Social Studies Center (HSSC) is still under construction, but it has already transformed the look of campus. We asked a few faculty members what they're anticipating about it. Here's one perspective.

Q: How will the HSSC impact the way that you teach/the way your students learn?

A: Just having brand new classrooms is going to be great. I’ve visited a couple of colleges with new buildings and students seem to have more energy when they are in a classroom they can respect.

I also think the common spaces throughout the building are going to go a long way in promoting student-to-student learning. The fact that many common spaces are adjacent or close to faculty spaces will also help create informal interaction between faculty and students, which I think both parties really enjoy and benefit from.

Q: What part of the new building are you looking forward to the most?

A: In addition to the classrooms and common spaces, I am excited for the new faculty lounge and the formal presentation space. A big goal of the new building is to promote interdisciplinary teaching and research. A great way to accomplish that goal is to create a space where faculty from many different disciplines want to hang out.

The economics department invites between fie and 10 speakers to campus each year. The formal presentation space will be a great space for our students to interact with these world-renowned economic experts and their cutting-edge research.

Q: What part of the new building do you wish more people were talking about?

A: I think our students don’t realize how great the new DASIL [Data Analysis and Social Inquiry Lab] wspace is going to be. Imagine a mash-up between a computer lab and a lounge with access to upper-level students to assist you in your data analysis work.