Mar 19, 2024  
Fitchburg State University 2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
Fitchburg State University 2017-2018 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Campus Facilities


The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

Computer Science Department

Hammond Hall

McKay Arts Academy, Teacher Education Center

Center for Italian Culture

Humanities Department

Center for Professional Studies

On-Campus Housing

Center for Teaching and Learning

Recreation/Athletic Facilities

Technology Department

Natural Areas Around Campus

 Computer Facilities

Animals on Campus

  

All students are encouraged to utilize the many campus services and facilities available, including the computer center, athletic facilities, library, and many others. Access to these facilities often requires a valid OneCard, which can be obtained at the OneCard office in the Anthony Student Service Center.

The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

The Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, located in Hammond Hall, is a comprehensive information center with a knowledgeable staff of professional librarians and library assistants dedicated to the educational development of students, faculty, staff, and public patrons. A wide variety of services and easily-accessible physical and electronic collections promote the interaction between patrons and resources available to them. There is easy off-campus access to databases for all students as well as a wide variety of services for distance learning, including on-site instruction, document delivery, online and phone reference, and research guides. Professional librarians plan, develop, promote, implement and assess the library’s services as well as its physical and online collections.

Library Services Hours

Regular academic hours are as follows:

  • Monday–Thursday, 7:30 a.m.–11:30 p.m.
  • Friday, 7:30 a.m.–7 p.m.
  • Saturdays, noon–5 p.m.
  • Sundays, 1 p.m.–11:30 p.m.

Semester hours, holiday hours, exam hours, winter session hours, and summer hours are posted in the library and on the library Web site.

Services

Access to the library’s services are available from any computer on and off-campus via the library Web site. Our resources include:

• Online Public Access Catalog, containing the listing of Fitchburg State’s books in print, e-books, CDs and DVDs
• Easy access to more than 66,000 full text online periodical titles
• Free access to more than 150 electronic online databases (encyclopedias, indexes/abstracts, directories, streaming audio and streaming video services, etc.) representing all disciplines on campus
• Education Resources Information (ERIC), a comprehensive updated education library system, including online access from 1995 to present
• A distance learning link for library services on the library Web site
• Six month borrowing period for faculty
• Interlibrary loans for students and faculty
• Free borrowing privileges with the other Massachusetts public higher education libraries and the academic libraries of Worcester County
• The Library Instruction Program provides library instruction and workshops for the university community - Faculty can schedule library instruction sessions, course guides and/or an embedded librarian for their on-campus, extended campus and distance learning courses. Contact the Library Instruction Coordinator at (978) 665-3062 or dllibrary@fitchburgstate.edu for more information.
• The Research Desk is staffed by professional librarians who provide reference and research assistance, including consultations, at the desk and remotely via live chat, phone: (978) 665-3223 and email: reference@fitchburgstate.edu.
• Electronic Course Reserves—a Web‑based reserves service allowing access from the university’s Blackboard system.
• The Archives and Special Collections Department houses the university’s records, a number of manuscript collections, such as those of Robert Cormier and Robert Salvatore, and special collections such as faculty publications and local history materials with a continually growing digital archives.

Hammond Hall

Hammond Hall serves as a gathering place for both commuter and resident students. The center’s facilities include:
• Academic Advising
• Campus Center Art Gallery
• Campus Information Center
• Career Services
• Counseling Services
• University Bookstore
• North Street Bistro
• Disability Services
• Expanding Horizons
• Game Room
• Leadership Commons
• Meeting and Function Rooms
• Office of Student Development and Campus Center
• Offices of the Student Government Association; the Student Design Center; and other student organization offices
• The Hub

Center for Italian Culture

The Center for Italian Culture (CIC) was established in 1999 through an initial grant from Mrs. Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio, Class of 1938.  The CIC promotes the understanding and appreciation of Italian language and culture.  It also sponsors cultural and special events and offers scholarship support for students at the University throughout the year.  The CIC is located in the Amelia V. Galluci-Cirio Library.

Center for Professional Studies

The Center for Professional Studies (CPS) has offered professional development to working professionals for over a decade, collaborating with school districts, businesses and other professional groups on continuing educational needs. Fitchburg State University believes that excellence in education practice must be supported beyond the conferring of degrees or professional licensure. As such, the CPS is a key element of the university’s total strategy, providing educational opportunities to working professionals during the critical years of induction into their profession and throughout their career.

To help address this goal, the CPS offers an extensive array of high-quality professional development opportunities for educators, business people, healthcare and other working professionals. The activities of the center include graduate courses, workshops and conferences, as well as collaboration with agencies and work force groups to provide consulting and to develop custom programs as needed.  The Center is located at 150B Main Street in Fitchburg providing convenient access to the community.

Center for Teaching and Learning

The Center for Teaching and Learning is dedicated to enhancing the teaching and learning environment at Fitchburg State University through interdisciplinary collaboration.  CTL staff offer a wide variety of faculty professional development opportunities to full-time, tenure-track and adjunct faculty and librarians, including faculty talks on the scholarship of teaching and learning, instructional technology workshops, artists’ presentations, and book signings.  On the third Tuesday of each month during the all-campus block of 3:30 - 4:45 p.m., the CTL plans, coordinates and publicizes campus-wide teaching and learning professional development programming. The center is located on the second floor of the Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library, room 212.  Center staff are available at ext. 3832 and via e-mail at ctl@fitchburgstate.edu. The center also maintains a Web site.

Technology Department

The Technology Department is responsible for managing and maintaining all University computers and associated equipment, the campus network, residence hall cable television system and telecommunications systems, and all University software and associated maintenance.

Help Desk

The IT Help Desk is available to all faculty, staff and students for any technology related issues. The Help Desk is located in room 236 in the Conlon Building. You may also contact the Help Desk by calling (978) 665-4500, or you can submit a ticket online and see our walk-in hours at www.fitchburgstate.edu/technology/help.

Email

Faculty, staff and students at the university are provided a Fitchburg State University email account.  This account serves as your official email account and should be used when conducting business with the University.

Faculty/staff are provided an Outlook account that can be used with a client or by using any modern web browser at http://mail.fitchburgstate.edu

Students are given a Gmail student.fitchburgstate.edu account at Summer Orientation and Registration. Students who don’t know their account information or need help accessing it can stop by the IT Help Desk in Conlon 236 or call (978) 665-4500.

Telecommunications

The Technology Department is responsible for managing, servicing, and maintaining the campus telecommunication system. Services include:
• Daily functioning of all telephones
• Adding voice mail for resident students
• Coordinating hardware installations and modifications
• Installing cable and network lines

OneCard

The OneCard is the official identification card of Fitchburg State University and issued to every student and employee.  You will find that the OneCard is an essential key to campus
life. Apart from being your official form of identification, it can be used for many other university services. Here are some examples:
• Chartwells dining meal plans
• Library check out of books/equipment
• Recreation Center access/equipment rental
• Computer lab printing
• Student discounts
• Building and room access in the residence halls
• Door access to certain secure labs/rooms
• Retail purchases on and off campus
• Admittance to sponsored university events
• MART bus pass

The OneCard also allows you to avoid carrying loose change on campus. Once you have added money onto your OneCard account, it can be used to pay for any of the following:
• Vending machines
• Campus laundry
• Photocopying
• Postage
• Chartwells food
• Campus bookstore
• Health Services
• Weston Box Office
• Campus Center
• Residential Housing Services

For more information about the Fitchburg State University OneCard visit the Web site at www.fitchburgstate.edu/onecard.

Computer Facilities

Computer Labs

The hours and locations of open computer labs are listed in the labs and are updated each semester. These hours are subject to minor changes due to course additions/deletions and because of individual workshops, training and special classes.  For questions regarding hardware/software support in the open labs contact the Information Technology Help Desk at ext. 4500.

Hammond Instructional Lab

Hours for the Hammond Instructional Lab can vary depending on holidays/vacations. The 35 seat lab functions as an instructional space; please check at the circulation desk for availability.  Closing time is one half hour before the library closes.

Library Open Use Computers

The first floor of the library houses 65 open computers and three public printers for patron use.

McKay C-163/C-165 Lab

This lab features 20 Windows computers, 8 dual-boot Macintosh computers, and an instructor podium equipped with a computer, a video projector and a sound system. The two computer classrooms are alternately scheduled to ensure the availability for classroom teaching and individual use.

The Adaptive Computer Lab

The Adaptive Computer Lab is available to provide students with alternate access to technology. The lab is located in the Disability Services Office, Suite 303 in the Hammond Campus Center and has a variety of technology resources that are available for student use. Some examples of software, equipment and services available through the lab include:

Software and equipment
• Text to speech software (screen readers)
• Screen magnification software
• CCTV (for magnification of text)
• Organizational software
• Voice recognition software
• Alternate input devices
• Adapted keyboards
• Ergonomic workstations

Services

• Conversion of print materials (for example, text to Braille, electronic text, large print)
• Faculty support with creating accessible curricula (lecture, media and online materials)
• Faculty and staff development workshops on adaptive technologies and universal design
• Faculty and staff development workshops on ergonomics and healthy computing

For specific information about lab resources and hours, or to arrange training, please contact Disability Services at (978) 665-4020 or disabilityservices@fitchburgstate.edu.

Computer Science Department

The Computer Science Department has additional equipment dedicated for use in that discipline, including:
• Electronic hardware and prototyping equipment to support both analog and digital laboratories
• Small microprocessor systems that allow students to work on design experiments that would be impossible or, at least impractical, on larger computer systems
• Computer networks and labs including Macintosh workstations and Intel PCs with Windows
This provides students with state-of-the-art systems and design equipment currently being used in industry. These computer laboratories also provide the students with access to the Internet as well as a Web server for developing their
own Web pages.

McKay Arts Academy / Teacher Education Center

The McKay Complex serves as the Teacher Education Center at Fitchburg State University as well as a K-4 public elementary school for the city of Fitchburg and a 5-8 middle school arts academy pilot school known as the McKay Arts Academy. This dual mission adds a uniqueness to the teaching and learning atmosphere at McKay. This collaboration with higher education is a partnership that brings professionals together in our school setting to share:
• responsibility for the preparation of new teachers
• the professional development of experienced classroom teachers
• the professional development of university faculty serving as teacher educators
• the support of research directed at improvement of practice
• enhanced student learning for our elementary students

Humanities Department

The Humanities department has a range of facilities to support the diverse needs of our individual courses.  There are classrooms specifically mediated for music courses, as well as a music technology lab with synthesizers and music scoring software.  We have classrooms with Steinway grand pianos, a Model B Steinway concert piano in Kent Recital Hall, and a Model L Steinway concert piano in Weston Auditorium.  We have a number of state-of-the-art Wenger practice rooms with Boston upright pianos and Yamaha keyboards.  There are newly constructed art studios for sculpture, drawing, design, ceramics, water and oil-based painting.  Our facilities compare favorably with many of those offered elsewhere in the state.

On-Campus Housing

A variety of resident housing options are available for students who choose to live on campus. The seven campus residence halls provide housing for more than 1,550 students.  All residence halls are centrally located to classrooms,
offices, the library, computer laboratories, auditoriums, and the Hammond Campus Center. Situated adjacent to the residence halls is Holmes Dining Commons, where various meal plans are offered to residence hall students. For specific
information on resident housing, please refer to the Housing and Residential Services section of the catalog.

Recreation/Athletic Facilities

Fitchburg State University has a wide range of indoor and outdoor athletic and recreational facilities.

Recreation Center: The recreation facility includes the following amenities:

• A 1,000 seat NCAA basketball/volleyball arena

• Three teaching stations/intramural courts

• Suspended jogging track

• 25 yard, six lane swimming pool

• A dance/aerobics studio

• Fitness Center (circuit weight machines, free weight machines, and cardiovascular machines)

• Two racquetball/handball courts

• Classrooms

• Exercise Science Laboratory

• Sports Medicine Center

• Teaching stations

• Locker rooms, laundry, and storage areas

• Athletic Department offices

• Recreation Services offices

Athletic Complex: Located on Pearl Hill Road, the athletic complex is easily assessed by a walking path from the Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University parking lot on John Fitch Highway. The facility includes Robert Elliot Field, a state-of-the-art synthetic turf field which serves as the practice and competition site for field hockey, football, women’s lacrosse, and men’s and women’s soccer. The field is surrounded by an 8-lane chem-turf track. Additional facilities in the complex include locker rooms, an athletic training facility, a natural grass practice field and the Michael Riccards baseball field.

George Wallace Civic Center at Fitchburg State University: The ice hockey team practices and competes at the Civic Center on John Fitch Highway.
McKay Complex: Some intramural events are held in the gymnasium at the McKay Complex.
The Intercollegiate Athletics Department schedules the use of all campus athletic facilities.

Natural Areas Around Campus

Fitchburg State is adjacent to abundant natural areas for teaching and recreation.  Within walking distance, the University owns several conservation areas with forests and streams, and we have access to a small pond.  The Nadine Martel Nature Preserve is adjacent to the McKay Campus School on Rindge Road.  The parcel was given to the university in 1999 by Nadine Cookman Martel of Fitchburg for use as an environmental laboratory.  We also own a much larger forest north of the athletic fields with a walking trail, and a 121 acre reserve in Lancaster, MA.  With a short drive from campus students can access Mount Watatic, Mount Monadnock and Wachusett Mountain.  The latter is a vibrant downhill ski area, and a cross-country ski center is available just a few miles north in New Ipswich, NH. Finally, canoeing and kayaking are popular in the local Nashua River, Squannacook River and our many local lakes.

Animals on Campus

Due to health and safety considerations, no animals are allowed on campus or in campus buildings at any time. The only exceptions are service animals and laboratory animals.