About the person: Taken from the website, "Dr. Joseph Fink was appointed Dominican’s eighth president in 1988. When Dr. Fink arrived at Dominican, enrollment had dipped below 650 students, total assets were $15 million, revenue was only slightly above $7.2 million, and the physical campus was in need of renovation and modernization.
Dr. Fink is widely respected as a hands-on leader whose expertise in fundraising has shaped what the institution has become and the direction in which it is headed.
By fall 2010, enrollment had grown to more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students with an additional 700 participants in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The University’s assets exceeded $100 million and revenue was more than $58 million.
Campus enhancements made during Dr. Fink’s tenure include a state-of-the art recreation center, a new residential village, a $21 million science research facility, the addition of Magnolia House, and an $8 million renovation of the 122-year-old Edgehill Mansion into the Dominican Heritage and Alumni House.
Dr. Fink guided Dominican in progressive academic programming, introducing the Pathways program for working adults, the Honors Program, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Dominican for people over 50, and innovative majors such as the BFA in Dance with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, the Green MBA and the MS in Biological Sciences in Association with Buck Institute.
He promoted and supported undergraduate research and academic excellence among students and has brought visibility to Dominican by attracting internationally known speakers to campus. Dr. Fink supervised the reorganization of campus departments and led the University from intercollegiate athletic competition in NAIA to NCAA Division II.
In his 23 years as President, Dr. Fink fulfilled his inaugural promise of a diverse student body and established initiatives to reach out to minority students. In 2011, more than 45 percent of Dominican’s undergraduates are African American, Hispanic, Asian American and Native American. One quarter of students are first generation in their family to attend college, and more than 80 percent of Dominican students receive financial aid."
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About the building: Taken from the website, "The 35,000 square foot Science Center houses more than 30 classrooms and labs, including teaching, biology, chemistry, and computer technology labs for faculty and student use.
The building will serve students from all disciplines, including nursing students and students in the School of Education preparing to teach science and technology in K-12 schools. The Science Center also will help train students for careers in medicine and science, particularly the booming biotechnology sector.
At Dominican, science students get involved with research in their freshman year. Students are working alongside faculty on research projects such as breast cancer, stem sells, sudden oak death, the genetics of alcohol addiction, and biofuels.
Included in the building are seven faculty-student research labs, four special instrument rooms, two computer technology rooms, and nine teaching labs, including a cell biology and biochemistry lab; a microbiology and molecular biotechnology lab; a general and organic chemistry lab; and analytical and quantitative chemistry lab; an anatomy and physiology lab; an animal sciences lab; a field biology lab; a plant science lab; and a physics lab."
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