The Hill School will be unveiling the brand-new Shirley Quadrivium Center this fall after years of planning and a year of construction. The Quadrivium, connecting the former Widener Arts and Crafts building to the former Widener science building, will provide a redesigned structure to the Hill community, housing science, math, engineering, computer science, and digital design curricula. The expected opening date will be September of 2020 thanks to continued construction through the spring, meaning science and engineering classes will end their year-long stay at the Dell Science temporary modulars. 

According to the School’s website, the main concerns and reasons for the update in Widener buildings were size and space-related with hallways and classrooms growing increasingly disproportionate to the expanded student body. 

“By adding the link, we now are able to have the width and depth necessary for 21st Century labs,” the site stated. 

Updated science classrooms back in their original location on campus are a welcomed sight for Hill students, especially those with a primary interest in science like Michael Wong ’21. 

“I’m looking forward to not having to walk up and down the hill every day,” said Wong, who cited Dell Science’s location as a nuisance for him. “Leaving the science building was already disappointing but having to come up and down the hill to get to science every day was a lot harder than I expected.”

On top of the shortened walk, Wong is excited for the new and improved resources the Quadrivium will provide and hopes to see increased attention to the STEM department like this for the future. “I’m excited to take advantage of new resources in the Quadrivium this fall and see how updated lab spaces will improve our laboratory experience. I hope to see even more resources offered down the road,” Wong said. “I hope to be offered more freedom in personal projects since so many fields of science are so broad and have so many specific areas we don’t get to in class.”

While the opening of the Quadrivium Center will not be quite as exciting for new students, who will not have to wait for this new privilege, incoming 3rd formers are still looking forward to new and improved resources. 

Nick Bressi ’24, who will be taking both biology and engineering in the Quadrivium this year, is no exception. “I am thrilled to have access to an extremely professional facility as I start my time at the Hill School, and cannot wait to start having classes in the Quadrivium,” Bressi said. “Though I haven’t seen or heard much about the new quadrivium center, my advisor for the upcoming year, Mr. Courtney, will be the Dean of the Quadrivium Center so he has certainly gotten me excited about taking classes there”

Jared Courtney will be joining the Hill community for the first time this year to serve as the Dean of the Quadrivium Center, where he will oversee the Quadrivium and the classes it will house.

According to Courtney, “The school already has such an incredible set of STEM faculty, so part of my goal will be to highlight what excellent work is already going on, and to unify the efforts across multiple departments.” 

Courtney further added he likes to think about the Quadrivium in two phases: COVID phase and post- COVID phase. “During the Covid phase, students can expect to enjoy world-class facilities in the Quadrivium — including new screens in each room, spacious and innovative learning spaces, a state-of-the-art greenhouse, and so much more thoughtfully-designed aspects. During the post-COVID phase, students can expect the Quadrivium to be utilized as a space to welcome leaders of modern STEM as speakers, to conduct student-designed research projects, and to collaborate across classes and disciplines to make Hill a prominent STEM leader in boarding schools,” said Courtney.