FSML: New Housing for Researchers, Faculty, and Students at Highlands Biological Station

由西卡罗莱纳大学管理的北卡罗来纳大学跨机构中心高地生物站的罗伯特·怀亚特博士获得了一笔拨款，用于为来访的研究人员、教师和学生建造新的住房。自1927年成立以来，哈佛商学院一直致力于促进南阿巴拉契亚山脉生物区系和生态系统的研究。该地区位于北卡罗来纳州西南部的山区，靠近佐治亚州和南卡罗来纳州的边界，是北美东部最潮湿的地区，每年降雨量为80到100英寸。由于这个无冰川地区的地形和土壤变化多样，它是生物多样性的热点，特别是蝾螈、真菌、蜘蛛、树种和陆地蜗牛等群体。该站作为生物研究、研究生培训和公众宣传的基地，有着悠久而杰出的历史。从2001年秋季开始，北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校新卡罗莱纳环境项目的部分本科生将在哈佛商学院住校一个学期。目前，哈佛商学院一次最多可以容纳38人，而且在夏季的几个月里，空间站经常满负荷运转。研究和教育项目的一个制约因素是缺乏合适的空间来教授课程或希望带家人来的高级研究人员。此外，大多数现有住房没有防寒设施。NSF将支持建造一个由四个两居室公寓组成的小型综合体，分两个阶段完成。在夏季，这些单元将被用来容纳教学人员和高级研究人员。在学年期间，它们将作为来自卡罗来纳州环境项目的16名学生的宿舍。每个单位将包括约787平方英尺的居住空间，其中一个单位经过改造，为残疾人提供通道。这种额外的、灵活的住房的可用性将增强我们吸引最优秀的教师来教授课程和最优秀的生物学家在哈佛商学院建立长期研究项目的能力。新宿舍还将为在哈佛商学院进行生物多样性和土地保护培训的本科生团队提供更合适的、防寒的宿舍空间。这些学生还将在当地政府和非政府机构实习，如美国农业部林业局和高地土地信托基金。新住房的可用性还将增强哈佛商学院在高地自然中心的免费公开讲座系列和本地植物景观美化和园艺年度会议上的演讲者的能力。间接地，这种新住房将增加安排教师培训研讨会的灵活性，因为它将腾出现有的宿舍空间用于其他用途，例如教师住房。因此，哈佛商学院的所有研究和教育工作都将直接或间接地受益于新住房的供应。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Robert Wyatt of the Highlands Biological Station, an interinstitutional center of the University of North Carolina administered by Western Carolina University, to construct new housing for visiting researchers, faculty, and students. Since its founding in 1927, HBS has served to facilitate research on the biota and ecosystems of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Located in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina near its borders with Georgia and South Carolina, the region is the wettest in eastern North America, receiving 80 to 100 inches of precipitation per year. Because of the varied topography and soils of this unglaciated area, it is a hotspot for biodiversity, especially of groups such as salamanders, fungi, spiders, tree species, and land snails. The Station has a long and distinguished history as a base of operations for biological research, graduate training, and public outreach. Beginning in the fall of 2001, select undergraduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's new Carolina Environmental Program will spend a semester in residence at HBS. Currently, HBS can house up to 38 people at one time, and the Station often operates at capacity during the summer months. A constraint on the programs in research and education is lack of suitable space for faculty teaching courses or senior investigators who wish to bring their families. Moreover, most of the existing housing is not winterized. NSF support will enable construction of a small complex of four two-bedroom apartments, completed in two phases. In the summer these units will be used to house teaching faculty and senior researchers. During the academic year they will serve as the living quarters for groups of up to 16 students from the Carolina Environmental Program. Each unit will include about 787 square feet of living space, with one unit modified to provide handicapped access. The availability of this added, flexible housing will enhance our ability to attract the very best faculty to teach courses and the very best biologists to establish long-term research programs based at HBS. The new dormitory will also provide much more suitable, winterized dormitory space for use by teams of undergraduates who will do their capstone training at HBS in biodiversity and land preservation. These students will also do internships with local government and non-government agencies, such as the USDA Forest Service and Highlands Land Trust. Availability of this new housing will also enhance the ability of HBS to accommodate speakers in our free, public lecture series at the Highlands Nature Center and in our annual Conference on Landscaping and Gardening with Native Plants. Indirectly, this new housing will increase flexibility in scheduling teacher training workshops, as it will free up existing dormitory space for other uses, such as teacher housing. Thus, all efforts in research and education at HBS will benefit directly or indirectly from the availability of new housing.