Ex-sorority becomes home for technology

The building at the corner of 10th Street and Woodlawn Avenue is one of the most newly renovated structures on campus. But the property has a storied legacy.\nThe School of Informatics, 901 E. 10th St., was renovated after it was bought two years ago from the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. \nThe University said it needed more space for the rapidly growing school.\n"The building has given us a place for better research and more fertile work, for faculty as well as students," said Professor of Informatics Dennis Groth. \nWhen the school started in 1999, it consisted of only four offices in Memorial Hall. It's now home to around 1,500 informatics majors. The building has allowed the school to expand the classes, lab research and career services centers. \n"Informatics is humans interacting with technology, which needs a large space," Groth said. \nBuilding renovations began in spring 2002, after a lengthy search process for the right location. \n"There was a long process that involved seeking approval from the (IU board of) trustees, developing plans with an architect, having the University purchase the building, getting bids for construction/renovation and then finally doing the renovation and moving in," Groth said.\nThe University bought the house from Alpha Omicron Pi in 1999 after the sorority had moved to their current home on 1415 N. Jordan Ave. In the School of Informatics, there is still one pink bathroom left over from the house's sorority days. \nAfter renovations began, it took about a year before faculty and students could move in and some classrooms and labs are still under construction. The School of Informatics building opened its doors for the faculty to move into their new home in October of last year. \nThe building has become a haven for students, said Assistant Dean of Informatics Emmerson Quinn. \n"The building is open to any student who wants a quiet place to relax and study," Quinn said.\nThe most popular spot is the building's large lounge complete with a fire place and plenty of places to sit. \n"The center lobby is great," said senior informatics major Nicolas Oizumi. "You can sit and relax and get work done."\nThe large outdoor patio overlooking 10th Street provides another place where students can study. The building contains large lecture rooms and instructional laboratories. The number of classes that are held in the building is limited so the rooms can be used for students to work on research projects and can be used for the school to bring in experts to give seminars to the students and faculty. The second floor is home to many administrative and faculty offices in rooms that used to be bedrooms for the sorority. \nLocated on the third floor is the Informatics Research Institute, which provides the faculty a place for large collaboration projects. \n"The IRI is a part of the school that is only involved in research," Groth said. "The space in our building is reconfigurable to meet the needs of a variety of research projects."\nWhen students started attending classes in January of this year, the school made another huge leap. \n"(The building) gives us a united presence on campus," Quinn said. \nInformatics students also seem to love the building. \n"It's a great place for all the Informatics students to come together," said graduate student Iman Morisset. "It really gives you a sense of who is in the school." \nThe school continues to grow at rapid rates. Groth said the school is planning to triple the size of its staff in the next year. The once-small school is already outgrowing the old sorority house. The school is actively looking for new space, but it isn't planning on moving out the building anytime soon, just spilling over into another one. The goal of the school is to have the informatics major available at all IU campuses. \n"We are at an exciting point in time with the school," Groth said. "We will be expanding the faculty significantly, adding new research areas and curriculum offerings for undergraduate and graduate students. The number of students has grown in our program -- we would like to grow even larger."\n-- Contact staff writer Amy Barnicle at abarnicl@indiana.edu.