史蒂夫·克莱因:在体育菠菜大平台西中心巡视

就像内布拉斯加州州立肺结核医院的医生一样, 他们六十年来在现在的地方巡视 体育菠菜大平台的西部中心在美国，史蒂夫·克莱因(Steve 克莱因)每天早上都会检查同事的情况. As a Facilities and Technology Specialist for the College of 商业及科技, 他对工作的奉献精神帮助体育菠菜大平台顺利运行. 克莱因, who has worked at the 内布拉斯加大学 at Kearney for the past fourteen years, credits his “natural passion for handling facilities-type things” for making what he does every day not “feel like a job” to him. 而他分享说，他的工作是任何插在墙上的东西, 他的职责远远超出了技术范畴.

克莱因 starts each day traveling throughout the building where he gets to do what he enjoys the most, 与同事互动. He eventually ends up at 体育菠菜大平台’s student-run coffee shop Brewed Awakenings, 这是他参与的第一个大型改造项目. 除了使该区域对客户更友好之外, adding technology to this area has helped create a flexible environment for professors to use with their classes which is always at the forefront of the designs 克莱因 comes up with for 体育菠菜大平台.

Creating the perfect classroom environment for faculty and students is one of his goals. 事实上, he connects with new staff via email before they arrive on campus to anticipate any needs they may have. He shares that he “always make(s) it a point that first day to go in and put a face with a name or a face with an email.” This type of personalized attention stems from the fact that he wants his new colleagues to “be confident that first day when they walk in that classroom.” He’s careful to visit them again within their first week on campus to make sure they know he’s always available to help with any technological needs they may have.

Helping faculty and staff with their tech issues is just one part of his job. He also listens to feedback from the students to help him plan classroom renovations that will meet the needs of everyone involved in the learning process. Around a year and a half ago, 克莱因 was involved with the first classroom renovation in West Center. 作为未来教室的试点, Room 238C represents 体育菠菜大平台’s “new standard classroom design” except for the video wall since every room won’t need to utilize such advanced features. 自从第一次翻修以来, 克莱因 has branched out to three other classrooms in the building: 228C, 221E, 和205 n. All these West Center classrooms represent his plan to find “a space that will work for everyone.”

克莱因关注每个项目最微小的细节. 翻新后的238C, he “went around to the departments at their department meetings” as well as visited instructors one-on-one to understand the vision they had for their own classrooms. He did this to create the precise environment needed for those who use the classrooms daily.

Although he admits that the “first semester was a challenge” due to the advanced technology which was new to many of the instructors, 他很快就能观察到这个示范教室的使用情况. 除了评估这个教室的使用情况, 克莱因听取学生的反馈以获得新的想法. He wanted to know what they expected when they first walked into the building as well as what kind of experience they received. 然后他利用这些信息来瞄准大楼里的其他空间.

With his goal of renovating each classroom to “make it feel more like a true business environment,” 克莱因 can see how the impact of each project has had more than an aesthetic effect. 这些新教室里的所有东西, from the interactive display on a teaching wall to the new sound system, has been carefully designed and implemented with both instructor and student in mind.

克莱因在这些翻新方面很有创新精神. When faced with the need to create a tiered classroom and not lose space due to square footage issues, 他实施了所谓的“人工分层”概念.” He managed to use furniture to get the effect of a tiered classroom. When graduate students requested a place to recharge the devices they use all day at their jobs, 他给他们的桌子增加了力量. The challenge of recognizing a need and finding a workable solution is one of the reasons he enjoys his work so much.

克莱因, 在体育菠菜大平台的校园里，需要他就在哪里工作, recently had the opportunity to participate in the first combined renovation project between the College of 商业及科技 and the College of Arts and Sciences. As part of the Discovery Hall renovation, he helped with the renovation of West Center’s Room 123E. This room was transformed into an area that can be used as a “traditional lecture-style or pod-style” classroom to accommodate up to thirty-six students. This type of flexible seating arrangement adds a new dimension to teaching and learning at 体育菠菜大平台.

他很高兴能成为建筑总体规划项目的一部分, 这是一项旨在使西中心“看起来像21”的努力^st century business college” while still allowing for an appreciation of its architecture. The planned renovations will make the building flow better for students. 克莱因解释道, another benefit will be “getting our faculty more in one location so that we create internal collisions of collaboration and research ideas.”

在一座历史悠久的建筑里, 克莱因 has great plans for its “future footprint” where tomorrow’s students will be comfortable and able to learn in the most technologically advanced way. With its new design, this space will be easier for students to navigate. 克莱因 looks forward to ushering in many positive changes for 体育菠菜大平台 students over the next several months.