Finances and General Facilities Committee
Facilities Subcommittee

Teaching Facilities
Draft Report, 11 March 1999

The teaching facilities for the NYU School of Medicine are primarily located in three of the buildings on the Medical School campus. The Coles Medical Science Laboratory Building houses the teaching laboratories and seminar rooms; the Schwartz Lecture Hall Building contains two large lecture halls and two small lecture rooms; and the Alumni Hall Building has one large auditorium and two small lecture rooms.

In response to a recent shift in teaching methodology which has moved away from the large lecture format to case based learning in small groups, the School of Medicine has recently completed the $3.5 Million renovation of the Coles Building into the Dr. Martin L. Kahn Teaching and Learning Center. Previous to the renovation, this facility included eight traditional wet teaching laboratories and four stadium seating seminar rooms. Due to the configuration and design of the laboratories, the facility was limited in its use to large group teaching in either a laboratory or lecture format. Additionally the school did not have any appropriate locations designated for small group seminars and the lack of these facilities was cited in the LCME 1993 Evaluation.

With the goal of being able to accommodate one entire class in a small group format simultaneously, the Coles Building has been renovated to permit the previous laboratory rooms to function in a totally flexible manner. This has been achieved by removing all of the fixed benches and replacing them with moveable tables which are suitable for laboratory work as well as seminar discussions. The tables can be arranged in a variety of locations and configurations which permit the room to be used in a multipurpose fashion. The rooms are now subdividable which has created the option for eleven rooms where there were previously only six. Additionally, two of the former laboratories were turned into six dedicated small group teaching rooms.

The renovation of this facility included the incorporation of information technology infrastructure which allows students access to network connections in all formats. Since all students are now required to have computers, the expectation is that they will soon be traveling with their computers and they will become an integral component of the classroom. Although the use of computers in the classroom as a teaching tool has existed for some time, the computer can now be seen as a portable item available to the student at any location within the teaching environment. The facility is also equipped with state-of- die-art audio visual equipment which includes video microscope cameras and video projection used by faculty for medical education purposes.

In addition to the infrastructure and equipment which has been installed in the Coles Facility, we have significantly improved the audio visual capabilities of our other teaching facilities on the campus. Lecture Halls A and B located in Alumni Hall and Lecture Halls E and F located in Schwartz Lecture Hall have all been equipped with video projection and computers. Farkas Auditorium located in Alumni Hall, our largest room available for teaching purposes and conferences, has been fully renovated with the installation of new video projection equipment.

Another area where the School has made a significant facility improvement is in the availability of student study space. When the 1993 LCME review was conducted the school did not have any dedicated study space on the campus. The library contains 35 useable study seats in the 24 Hour Study Room which are reserved for medical students in the evenings, overnight and weekends. Additionally, some teaching facilities are open during off hours for students to use for study purposes.

In response to the need for additional designated student study space, the school established the goal of creating enough study seats to accommodate one class of students. In order to implement this goal, the school has recently completed the renovation of an area that was previously administrative offices located in Alumni Hall into dedicated student study space. By the addition of a window which overlooks the main courtyard on the campus, a drab and dark space has been transformed into a wonderful study environment which has greatly improved the lives of our students. 'Me new study space can accommodate 55 students and is extremely well used by the students.

Submitted by,

Vicki Match-Suna, AIA
Director of Special Projects