Vassar College, one of the premier undergraduate liberal arts colleges in the country, is the recipient of ARI funds for the renovation and replacement of research and research training space in Blodgett Hall. Constructed in 1927, Blodgett Hall houses six departments, including the Psychology Department, which is the target beneficiary of the modernization project. As an academic field, psychology has become progressively more complex and technologically sophisticated in its application of the scientific method to the study of behavior and its physiological and environmental correlates. The existing space arrangement in Blodgett Hall is not flexible or efficient, lacks required laboratory utilities, and impedes research progress. Though not conducive for supporting research activities, the department has managed to maintain a rigorous program exemplified by active student-faculty research collaborations, quality scientific instrumentation, and a wide range of research training courses for students. The renovation focuses on the reconfiguration and modernization of three laboratory suites in the research intensive areas of: physiology and animal behavior; human neuropsychology, cognition, and perception; and social, personality, and developmental psychology. The replacement and renovation of these research areas will consolidate animal quarters and bring them into full compliance with federal and state guidelines, create a support facility for instrumentation, and improved, accessible spaces for faculty and students. This project will have an enormous impact on ensuring the future quality of faculty research and undergraduate research training programs. As part of the master renovation plan for Blodgett Hall, the improved psychology research facilities will ensure that faculty members remain active and productive research scholars, enabling the recruitment of the highest caliber of new faculty. In turn, Vassar will sustain its efforts to train and excite the next generation of professionals in the behavior and neural sciences.
