Connell Hall is home to the social sciences at Wayne State College. It houses the Department of History, Politics, and Geography, the Department of Psychology and Sociology, and the Department of Criminal Justice. Connell Hall contains offices, classrooms, technology labs, a GIS lab, a social sciences research lab and library, and the Museum of Anthropology.
The building was constructed in 1923 and originally served as student housing, a chapel, and the college’s cafeteria. Over the years, it was expanded to function as a student center and eventually underwent complete renovation in 1999, where it was fully converted for academic use.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Lab
Connell Hall features a computer lab devoted to geospatial technology. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a form of this technology and refers to the set of software and computing tools used in geographic mapping. GIS allows us to visualize information in ways that reveal geographic relationships, patterns, and trends not visible through other presentation methods. Courses for the Geography degree program and Geospatial Technology minor provide an introduction to the theory behind and hands-on usage of a Geographic Information System (GIS).
The GIS lab at Wayne State contains 22 computer workstations that run popular GIS industry software, including Esri ArcGIS Pro, Esri ArcGIS Desktop, and QGIS, along with Adobe Creative Suite, and SPSS – a statistical analysis software. Each workstation is also equipped with dual monitors for added convenience.
Courses at Wayne State that use the GIS lab include GEO 430/530 Geographic Information Systems, GEO 435/535 Computer Mapping, GEO 425/525 Urban GIS, GEO 440/540 Remote Sensing, and SSC 319 Statistics for the Social Sciences.
