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UNMC
names new research center
in
honor of Charles Durham In
recognition of his generous gift, the University of Nebraska Medical Center has
named its newest research building in honor of Omaha philanthropist Charles Durham.
The
announcement was made Wednesday during a ceremony in the facility that will bear
the Durham name. The facility – formerly the Research Center of Excellence
– will now be called the Durham Research Center. The adjoining plaza area
– 45th Street from Emile Street to Dewey Avenue and Dewey Avenue from 45th
Street to 44th Street – also was named the Durham Research Plaza. The
amount of Durham's gift is not being made public at Durham’s request. UNMC
Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., served as emcee of Wednesday’s ceremony,
which included remarks by several university, business and government leaders. | Charles
Durham and Julie Vose, M.D.,
chat at the
naming ceremony. |
The
$77 million building, which is expected to open next fall along 45th Street, is
being funded entirely by private donations. The 10-level, 289,000 gross-square-foot
building will enable UNMC to enhance its research in a number of areas including
cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, transplantation biology, genetics
and eye research. "Today
is an extraordinary day for UNMC," Dr. Maurer said. "These individuals
and organizations have made an exceptional investment in the medical center and
in our future. Their passion and generosity are responsible for the building that
is rising above us and around us. "They
believe as we do, that this state-of-the-art research facility and the research
it will house will further fuel our quest to be world class, enable us to make
more headway in diagnosing and treating and hopefully preventing many of the diseases
that still plague Nebraska and the nation today, and offer a new and exciting
educational environment for our students as they learn to be tomorrow’s health
professionals and scientists." Principal
donors to the Durham Research Center are Durham Foundation; Peter Kiewit Foundation;
Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr.; Ruth and Bill Scott; Stanley Truhlsen, M.D.; Mary
and Dick Holland; The Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Memorial Foundation; Gail Walling
Yanney, M.D., and Michael Yanney; and a donor who has asked to remain anonymous. "This
research facility has the potential to make a difference in so many lives,"
Durham said. "It is an honor to be associated with a medical center that
has a vision to be world-class, to improve the health of all Nebraskans and beyond,
advance medical knowledge through research and educate outstanding health professionals
and scientists." Durham
serves as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Durham Resources.
Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of HDR, Inc., an international engineering
and architectural firm with work in all 50 states and 20 countries. Durham
and his late wife, Margre, have been generous contributors to UNMC. In 1998, they
established the Charles W. and Margre H. Durham Excellence in Medicine fund at
UNMC to support research in prostate cancer, arthritis and minimally invasive
surgery. Their support made it possible for UNMC to be the eighth medical center
in the country to acquire the robotic da Vinci Surgical System, putting Nebraska
on the map in the area of computer-assisted surgery. In
recognition of their gift, the Outpatient Care Center was renamed the Durham Outpatient
Center and the adjacent five-level parking garage which connects to the building
was named the Durham Outpatient Center Parking. UNMC
leaders today also announced that different floors and areas of the Durham Research
Center would be named in honor of the primary donors. The named floors/areas include: - The
Peter Kiewit Foundation Transplant Biology Research Laboratories.
- Scott
Education Center (Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr.).
- Scott
Neuroscience Research Laboratories (Ruth and Bill Scott).
- Cardiovascular
Research Laboratories, which Mary and Dick Holland will name at a later date to
honor a loved one.
-
Truhlsen Eye Research Laboratories.
- Yanney
Seminar Center.
- The
Criss Foundation Seminar Center.
Click here to listen to audio sound bites from the naming ceremony.
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