Gannon University - Lance Yearbook (Erie, PA)

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RESOURCE CENTER Better Equipment Aids in Learning Last fall's opening of the Learning Resource Center marked a new beginning for Gannon College. On September 5, Gannon underwent a truly remarkable transformation. The dedication and opening of the Center launched a new experience in study and scholastic research for students. Housing the most advanced educational equipment of its kind in western Pennsylvania, the Resource Center combines film, TV, record, microtext material, and audio-visual equip- ment to modernize learning. The building is contemporary-modern in appearance. Encompassing 82,121 square feet of space, it is completely air-conditioned and enclosed in a reinforced concrete structure. The exterior courts are an attractive feature, designed for outdoor study. Besides giving the campus an expansive effect, the Resource Center provides a place for group study, with numerous rooms on the second floor designed for this purpose. And the interior furnishings create a warm, comfortable atmosphere very unlike the for- bidding surroundings traditionally associated with library study.

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THE YEAR IN REVIEW Gannon Outlook Contrasts Bleak National Scene During the past year, myriad events occurred which drastically altered the comfortable existence of most Americans. A variety of shortages, ranging from oil and related products to paper, deprived consumers of many conveniences they had taken for granted, and caused a rise in unemployment. An 8.8% increase in inflation at the end of 1973 — combined with material shortages, climbing wholesale prices, and stationary wages — produced a bleakly pessimistic outlook for 1974. General annoyance with government ensued. Last summer's grain deal with Russia, the tiresome unraveling of the Watergate mystery, and the belief that oil companies were gouging consumers with Mr. Nixon's blessing festered like a canker on the side of Middle America. The President's popularity ratings plummeted to an all-time low, and the Agnew fiasco didn't improve the Administrative reputation. A summary of the local scene creates a more optimistic tone. Erie, voted an All-American City, pressed forward with downtown renewal. Construction began on the Transitway Mall and the Erie Hilton. And on the college level, Gannon's financial crunch and subsequent sale of properties was countered by the addition of its Learning Resource Center — the most ad- vanced multi-media library in western Pennsylvania. Changes in academic Core requirements reflected the the college's awareness that students' educational needs have altered from the past. Look around. The changes in Gannon are visible. And, unlike most of the year's happenings, they have been changes for the better.

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