Thursday, June 7 -- UC Davis' innovative, three-year-old Technocultural Studies Program -- a field uniting science, technology, fine arts, performing arts, literature and cultural studies -- now has a building to call its own.

The opening of the newly refurbished Technocultural Studies Building, located south of the Art Building and west of Wright Hall, will be celebrated from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 7, with an eclectic exhibit of student work encompassing animation, music, video and computer art.

"It's a huge leap for us to have our own building," said Jesse Drew, acting director, who left a position as associate dean and head of the Center for Digital Media at the San Francisco Art Institute to help establish the new program. He also worked for a dozen years in the electronics industry for companies like Hewlett-Packard and Dolby Laboratories.

A $2-million renovation of the campus's former Art Annex building has created a home for Technocultural Studies that features high ceilings and abundant windows, a state-of-the-art video editing suite, high-tech sound lab, electronics shop, studio for recordings, performances and other public events, and a wireless laptop lounge and workspace for students.

UC Davis offers what is believed to be the nation's first undergraduate degree in the novel discipline. Since 2004, the Technocultural Studies Program has graduated 12 majors. Fifty students are now enrolled in the program, with another 14 expected to graduate with degrees in the new field this year. Alumni and current students will attend the opening celebration.

The program concentrates on transdisciplinary approaches to artistic, cultural and scholarly production in contemporary media and digital arts, and emphasizes the shared concerns of the arts and sciences. Students are free to explore areas where performance, music, visual arts, writing, media arts and community media touch on science and technology.

"In contrast to programs which see technology as the primary driving force, we place questions of poetics, aesthetics, history, politics and the environment at the core of our mission," the program's Web site says. "In other words, we emphasize the 'culture' in technoculture."