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Stephanie Fleming
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Columbia, Mo.—The University of Missouri Board of Curators on Thursday unanimously approved five new capital projects. These projects, at the University of Missouri-Columbia and at Missouri University of Science and Technology, will better serve students, researchers and physicians.
“From expanding research facilities, centralizing services and creating a world-class welcome center, these projects will move our universities forward and improve the services and resources we provide,” Board Chair Darryl Chatman said.
The projects at the University of Missouri-Columbia seek to expand capacity in critical research areas. The project at Missouri S&T is part of a new gateway for the campus.
“The important research we conduct at our universities improves the lives of people in Missouri and beyond,” UM President Mun Choi said. “Cutting-edge research needs cutting-edge facilities, and the investments we make today will expand our research enterprise to conduct even more life-saving research. I also appreciate Chancellor Mo Dehghani’s bold vision for the Missouri S&T campus; the Welcome Center is the first component of the comprehensive plan.”
University of Missouri Research Reactor
The University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR) will get an approximately 40,000-square-foot addition to expand the existing facility with an estimated completion date in fall 2024. After an unexpected shutdown of a reactor in Europe earlier this year, MURR became the sole producer of three critical radioisotopes used in medical diagnostics and the treatment of cancer and other diseases. MURR’s researchers work tirelessly to make the world a better place by developing novel research isotopes and radiochemicals, and analyzing industrial materials.
The new $20 million, three-story addition to the existing MURR North Building will greatly expand the facility’s multidisciplinary research and testing laboratories to offer researchers and their students more resources to discover drugs that provide benefits to people around the country and the world. The project is scheduled for completion in fall 2024.
Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building
Since opening in October, the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building has been bustling as innovators from across the University of Missouri and the UM System’s three other research universities pursue important precision health advancements. The building, which serves as the anchor of the collaborative NextGen Precision Health initiative, is a hub of life-saving research.
The fourth-floor build-out will add approximately 18,200 square feet of research laboratory space, including wet lab and office space. The fourth floor is the future home of NextGen neuroscience and reproductive biology researchers. This $16.5 million project is expected to be completed by fall 2024.
Pershing Commons and MU Lottes Health Science Library
The two other MU projects approved by the Board include renovating Pershing Commons and relocating the MU Student Health Center from the University Physicians Medical Building, moving it to a more convenient location for students. This move allows MU Health Care to reassign space to pediatric and women’s health clinics. This $10.8 million project is expected to be complete by spring 2024.
The MU Lottes Health Sciences Library building renovation will consolidate, modernize and renovate library space to connect academic and research areas of the medical science complex. The first and third floors will be renovated to accommodate child health faculty, moving them from their Keene Street location and providing them a direct connection to the School of Medicine and University Hospital. The $8.5 million project is expected to be complete by spring 2024.
Missouri S&T Welcome Center
The more than 30,000-square-foot Welcome Center will be highly visible and strategically positioned, framing the Rolla Building as a campus icon while serving as the beginning point for campus tours. Drawing on state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment and static and interactive exhibits, the Welcome Center will give visitors an intimate look at the richness of campus life, S&T’s exceptional programs and facilities, and the remarkable achievements of alumni. The new facility will house undergraduate, graduate and international admissions, and enrollment management departments. It will also have event spaces for open houses, lectures, fundraising events, trainings and other community outreach events.
The $25.75 million project is slated for completion by the end of 2024.
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Reviewed 2022-06-23