The new ROTC classroom is located in the Alumni Sports and Recereation Center (Armory).

New ROTC Classroom Unveiled

Continuing efforts to enhance the student experience, the Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (NROTC) program at Rensselaer last month unveiled a new classroom space that would be used for teaching, studying, administrative meetings, and all ROTC Navy, Marine, Army, and Air Force functions. Members of the campus community, ROTC officers and students, and staffers from the Division of Administration attended the opening event.

Rensselaer provided $80,000 to support the physical renovations, space design, and construction. The project included the purchase of a sophisticated computer and display system, new classroom furniture, lighting, carpet, and several photographs that portray Naval and Marine Corps branches, along with the installation of an AC system unit.

“This is a great new classroom that falls in line with the NROTC mission of developing midshipmen mentally, morally, and physically,” said Jeffrey Hughes, captain, USN, commanding officer and professor of naval science at Rensselaer. “This project also ties into The Rensselaer Plan in the area of creating an environment and community that nurtures, supports, and enables our students to excel. I am pleased that we were able to transform an archaic space into a cutting-edge, multipurpose learning facility that will benefit current and future ROTC students. This project is a wonderful testament to Rensselaer efforts to provide very strong support to ROTC in general, and specifically to the Navy ROTC program.”

Last year, the NROTC program unveiled its state-of-the-art naval science electronic classroom. The project, funded by the Naval Service Training Command (NSTC) and based at Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill., was focused on establishing electronic classrooms at NROTC units across the country in order to train junior naval officers with the necessary skills to operate in the electronic shipboard environment.

NSTC provided more than $140,000 to support the purchase of new classroom furniture, an instructor lectern, 24 computer workstations with hardware and software, study area, a plasma display screen, Smart Board, and restoration work to digitize several paintings and sketches that portray naval history since the 1800s. Rensselaer provided $100,000 to support the physical renovations and space design, and construction.

“Rensselaer is deeply committed to providing the best learning environment for all its students,” said Prabhat Hajela, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education. “We value the presence of ROTC programs on our campus and the cadets enrolled in these programs are among some of our best students. They strive to balance the demands of a competitive academic environment with the formal education and rigorous physical training required for successful commissioning as officers in our armed forces. We want to provide them with the best facilities to accomplish these goals, and this state-of-the-art classroom renovation is an example of our commitment to the program.”

For more about the electronic classroom project, read the release: http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2720