Higher Education

The University of Wisconsin-Madison opened the 330,000-sf Microbial Sciences Building on Sept. 14, 2007. Housing the departments of Bacteriology, Food Microbiology & Toxicology, Medical Microbiology & Immunology, and the Food Research Institute, the six-story facility features two atria to foster interaction and collaboration among an estimated 500 researchers. Designed by Plunkett Raysich Architects in Milwaukee with support from CO Architects of Los Angeles, the facility was built by general contractor C.D.

The University of Oklahoma broke ground in September of 2007 on the $7.5 million Cancer Institute and Harold Hamm Oklahoma Diabetes Center in Tulsa. Housing research, diagnosis, treatment, and education, the 23,000-sf facility is slated for completion in January of 2009.

California State University, Stanislaus opened the $55 Nora and Hashem Naraghi Hall of Science in Turlock, Calif. in September of 2007. The 110,000-sf facility took two years to build and houses 25 labs, 58 faculty and department offices, four classrooms, an observatory, a computer lab, a vivarium, and an aquarium. The three-story building features wireless Internet connectivity and leading edge technological infrastructure to support the departments of biology, chemistry, physics, geology, and astronomy.

Indiana University will begin construction in fall of 2007 on a $32 million data center in Bloomington. The 'hardened' building will house supercomputing and data storage equipment and provide protection from natural disasters. The facility will be constructed on the former site of the Creative Arts building, demolished in August 2007. A Cyber Infrastructure building housing IT and office facilities will be constructed next to the data center.

The University of Michigan is constructing the $120 million Stephen M. Ross School of Business in Ann Arbor. The building is six stories high at the center and three stories high around the perimeter and totals 245,000 sf. Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox, the facility includes a 500-seat auditorium, classrooms with the capacity of accommodating up to 95 students, a faculty terrace, a casual study lounge, and a fitness center.

The University of Florida College of Medicine will break ground in September 2008 on the 90,000-sf Veterinary Education and Clinical Research Center in Gainesville, Fla. A design firm for the $58-million project, which will include an expansion of the University’s small animal hospital, will be selected in fall of 2007. The new three-story animal hospital will triple the existing facility’s footprint. The first floor will house examination rooms, waiting areas, an ICU, imaging, and a pharmacy.

The University of Kentucky began construction in fall of 2007 on the 286,200-sf College of Pharmacy facility in Lexington. The largest college of pharmacy yet constructed, the building will accommodate 47,700-sf on each of its six floors when it opens in 2010. The project is part of the University of Kentucky’s $2.5 billion plan to replace its existing hospital with a new medical campus for education and research.

The University of Saskatchewan broke ground in early fall of 2007 on the $250 million Academic Health Sciences Centre in Saskatoon. The facility will accommodate multi-disciplinary education supporting a patient-centered health model and fostering the integration of research with health services. The project will foster academic, clinical, and scientific collaborations in medicine, veterinary medicine, kinesiology, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, nutrition, physical therapy, and public health.

Emory University School of Medicine opened the Emory School of Medicine Building in Atlanta in early fall of 2007. The $58.3 million, 162,000-sf medical education facility will allow for a 15 percent increase in class size and will enable Emory to fulfill the teaching needs of its new interdisciplinary curriculum with a focus on integration of clinical sciences and patient interaction. The project is comprised of three buildings, a central building newly constructed and two completely renovated facilities.

The University of Arkansas dedicated the $30 million J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. Center for Academic Excellence in Fayetteville, Ark. in September of 2007. The five story, 110,000-sf facility will accommodate the College of Engineering, the Sam M. Walton College of Business, and the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Featuring leading edge technology and efficient, flexible laboratories, the center includes wired and wireless high performance network access.

The University of Virginia is constructing the 85,000-sf Advanced Research and Technology (ART) building in Charlottesville. Sited in the Fontaine Research Park, the four story facility is comprised of three floors above grade and an underground basement. It will contain wet and dry lab space, a vivarium, two MRI rooms and one small animal MRI room, environmental rooms, office space, and conference areas. The 22-month project is slated for completion in March of 2008.

Construction on the David Murdock Core Lab Building at the North Carolina Research Campus (NCRC) in Kannapolis is slated for completion in late 2007. The $200-million, 311,000-sf facility will house approximately $90 million in equipment including a 900 megahertz NMR, an 800 megahertz NMR, and a 700 megahertz NMR. The facility will be managed by Duke University and will include a genomics lab, an imaging facility with electron microscopes, and a GMP manufacturing facility for biologics and small molecules.

Cornell University is constructing the $162 million Weill Hall in Ithaca, N.Y. The 250,000-sf building, also known as the Life Sciences Technology Building, is slated for completion in early 2008. The research facility will be the centerpiece of Cornell's New Life Sciences Initiative (NLSI), an effort to promote the college’s progress in genomic-led research. The facility is expected to attain LEED Gold certification for sustainable design and construction.

University College Dublin’s School of Medicine has partnered with The Mater and St. Vincent's Healthcare Group to create Ireland’s first academic medical center. Dublin Academic Health Care opens in September 2007 and will contain over 1,400 beds. Accommodating approximately 100,000 patient visits annually, the partnership will increase access to specialists, improve patient care, and foster translational research.

The National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is creating six Regional Centers for Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Each center will receive $23 million per year for the next seven years to support influenza research. The participating institutions are Emory University School of Medicine, St.