Campus Growth

College of Pharmacy building

Project Announcement                     Donate Now
A new College of Pharmacy and Center for Drug Discovery building is next for UNMC. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the construction budget in January 2013.

Location:  The facility will be built east of the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education at approximately 41^st and Emile Street. The building’s location on the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza near other UNMC college buildings will promote an inter-professional educational experience.

Funding source: Funding is through largely private support in partnership with the University of Nebraska Foundation.

Cost: $35 million 

Project details: The building will replace and expand the now outdated education space of the College of Pharmacy and increase its research capacity by constructing a new three- or four-level, 85,000-square-foot building on the UNMC campus in Omaha.

Additionally, it will:

• Provide contemporary education space, equipped with the advanced technology needed to deliver pharmacy education and active learning in the 21st century;

• Provide laboratory and research support space designed to accommodate the specific technical needs of pharmaceutical research in three areas: drug discovery and development, drug delivery, and clinical and translational research; and

Construction is expected to begin in February 2013 with completion set for July 2015.

Serving Students:  The state-of-the-art facility will provide patient care simulation and instructional space to emphasize the increasing role of pharmacists in providing primary health care. The building will include a contemporary model pharmacy, a sterile compounding room and practice areas for patient assessment and point of care testing. Student interaction and study areas will be designed to optimize collaborative learning.

 

 

Cancer Center Campus

Planning in progress                          Donate Now
A transformational cancer center project is the largest project proposal on the medical center campus. It features three buildings — a research tower, an inpatient hospital tower, and a multidisciplinary outpatient cancer treatment center.
In addition to the cancer center, project plans also call for construction of a fourth building – an ambulatory care clinic – to be built near 42nd and Farnam streets.
Location: The buildings will be built directly east of the Durham Research Center towers on the west end of the UNMC campus.
The construction of the new facility would mean both Swanson Hall and the Durham Outpatient Center parking garage would be razed to make room for the new structure. An underground parking facility would be included in the new project to replace the spots lost in the old garage.
Funding source: Funding will come from a variety of sources including private donations, $120 million from the Nebraska Medical Center and $50 million from the State of Nebraska as part of the Building a Healthier Nebraska project.
Cost: $370 million
Project details: Upon completion, the four buildings would comprise 695,000 square feet. It includes 108 inpatient beds; seven floors devoted to cancer research space and would create approximately 1,200 new high quality jobs.
Serving students: Students will benefit from collaborating with physicians whose clinic is next door to researchers in the lab. This will speed therapies from the bench to patients’ bedside.

Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute

Construction in progress                     Donate Now
The Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute will bring clinicians, researchers and patients together in one state-of-the-art facility featuring specialized care and the latest in diagnostic medicine.
Location:  The building will be located at 40th and Leavenworth streets, west of the Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation and the Home Instead Center for Successful Aging.
Funding source:  Funding is through largely private support with the center’s lead gift from Dr. Stanley Truhlsen.
Cost: $30 million which will be completed in two phases.
Building details: The first phase will be a 47,000-square-foot-building housing clinical services, clinical research, diagnostic and educational facilities. A surgical wing will be added later.
Serving students: The next generation of eye specialists will be able to learn in a technologically advanced facility. Plus, the new building will provide the means to keep private ophthalmologists in our local communities up-to-date on the latest surgical techniques.
Eye Surgery Center, planning in progress
This will be phase two of the Eye Institute project. The surgery center will house several suites for surgeries and eye procedures making the Truhlsen Eye Institute a “one-stop” place for clinic appointments, surgeries and follow-up care.

Poynter Hall Renovation

Renovation in progress
Background: Poynter Hall, a six-level masonry building that has been in service since its construction in 1912. The renovation will include updating the generally obsolete mechanical distribution, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as bring the building into compliance with current building, fire and life-safety, Americans with Disabilities act and energy codes.
Location: 42^nd & Emile Streets.
Funding Source: Nebraska State Legislature passed LB 605 which provides funding to maintain and make renovations on older buildings.
Cost: $7 million
Building details: The 20,000 square feet renovated building will be overhauled to create a space suitable for teaching and clinical work. It will be the primary clinic site for the Department of Psychiatry’s adult and child patients and will house research space.
Serving students: It will be the primary training site for UNMC’s third-year medical students and the primary outpatient and telepsychiatry training site for residents in the Creighton-Nebraska Psychiatry Training program. The building will continue to house operations for the Nebraska Anatomical Board.

Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases

Renovation in progress
Location: 42nd and Dewey Streets.
Funding source: UNMC received $8 million in federal stimulus funding. Plus, $2.7 million from the Nebraska State Legislature as part of LB 605 which provides funding to maintain and make renovations on older buildings.
Cost: $10.7 million
Building details: The project will replace deteriorating systems and space in the nearly 50-year old building. The renovation will substantially improve practically every facet of the building and transform the environment.
Serving students: The renovated space will provide more research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students interested in cancer research.

Scott Student Plaza & Hope Tower

Dedicated: September 2011
Ice Rink, opened December 2009
Designed to provide green space and a campus-like feel for students, the Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza is a place for study breaks, employee events and a community ice skating rink.
The Hope Tower - designed by internationally-renowned artist James Carpenter - is illuminated at night. It is surrounded by four black granite benches for people to sit on and reflect and represents a signature architectural piece on the UNMC campus.
Location: The Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza spans from 42nd Street to 38th Avenue and from Dewey Avenue to Jones Street.
Funding source: Funding is through largely private support with the lead gift from Ruth and Bill Scott. The Scotts have made multiple gifts to UNMC’s educational buildings including the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health and Pharmacy.
Cost: $5 million
Project details: This project was the start of a community space surrounded by one-of-a-kind art pieces. In 2012, the Keep Omaha Beautiful organization recognized the plaza as one of the cities’ top community spaces.
Serving students: The student plaza joins major education buildings on campus and provides a space for interdisciplinary study, networking and fun.

Harold M. and Beverly Maurer Center for Public Health

Completion: April 2010
Building Details: The 52,500-square-foot, three-level facility will provide a home for the newly established College of Public Health.
Funding Source: Private donations from Ruth and Bill Scott of Omaha
Cost: $16.5 million
Location: South of Dewey Avenue on the east side of 40th Street in what is presently a UNMC parking lot. The building will be flanked by the UNMC Eye Clinic on the north and the UNMC Student Life Center on the south.
Serving Students: The college delivers high quality education, research, and public service emphasizing the following areas: biosecurity/bio-preparedness; biostatistics; environmental, agricultural, and occupational health sciences; epidemiology; ethics and humanities in health; health disparities; health policy analysis; health services administration; health services research; health promotion/disease prevention; rural health; and toxicology.

Center for Nursing Science

Completion: Spring 2010
Building Details: A 42,550 square-foot, multi-story structure for classrooms, labs, faculty offices and nursing research.
Cost: $14 million
Funding Source: Private donations from Ruth and Bill Scott of Omaha
Location: The building addition will be a separate structure near the east end of the existing building at 42nd Street and Dewey Avenue and will be connected to the main building by a short grade level link.
Serving Students: Newspace will be dedicated to classrooms, clinical skills labs and seminar rooms – all designed to accommodate advanced teaching technology. Plans also call for a student lounge, student computing, student and faculty interaction areas, faculty offices and nursing research space.

Home Instead Center for Successful Aging

Completion: Spring 2010
Building Details: The three-level, 25,300 square-foot center will reunite the sections of geriatric medicine and geriatric psychiatry, expand research and patient care, improve the education infrastrcture and provide outreach facilities to enhance successful aging. A Community Education and Outreach Center - a key part of the project - will provide comprehensive services to promote fitness, good nutrition, health education, independent living and socialization.
Serving Students: Fifty percent of the health care provided by UNMC students in 2020 will be for people age 65 and older, which makes it important to expose health professions students to this population.
Funding Source: Major gift by Omaha natives Paul and Lori Hogan, co-founders of Home Instead Senior Care, the largest provider of non-medical home care to seniors in the world.
Cost: Nearly $10.2 million (funded entirely with private donations).
Location: The new center will be built at the intersection of Leavenworth Street and 38th Avenue.

College of Nursing Northern Division

Completion: 2010
Building Details: The 35,000-square-foot facility will house Northeast Community College’s basic nurse aide, licensed practical nursing and associate degree nursing programs, and UNMC’s bachelor of science in nursing, master of science in nursing and doctoral degree programs. UNMC currently offers nursing programs in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottbluff.
Donors: Regional fundraising campaign is underway.
Cost: $12.9 million
Location: Located on the Northeast Community College campus in Norfolk, Neb.
Serving Students: When combined with Northeast Community College nursing programs, six levels of nursing education will be available, from certified nursing assistant to the Ph.D. in nursing. The college also will help address a shortage of nurses in northeast Nebraska.

College of Dentistry Renovation

Completion: 2010
Building Details: The original overhanging entrance to the college will be enclosed to make room for a handicapped accessible elevator (which will improve patient access to the clinics) and additional offices. Heating and air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems will be upgraded and patient reception and waiting areas improved. Areas of the building that have not been substantially altered since the structure was opened in 1967 also will be renovated, including teaching clinics and class laboratories.
Funding Source: LB605
Cost: $8.5 million
Location: 40th and Holdrege streets in Lincoln
Serving Students: Modern and more efficient clinics, laboratories and support areas. Patient treatment, a large focus of clinical dental education, will be improved to benefit patients, the students who provide care and the faculty who teach in those areas.

Durham Research Center II

Completion: May 2009
Building Details: The 10-level facility will be nearly identical to the Durham Research Center, which opened in 2003. It will contain 252,179 gross square feet with 98 state-of-the-art laboratories, as well as office space for investigators and laboratory support space. UNMC commissioned a sculpture of Durham by Omaha artist John Lajba, which will be located near the entrances of the two research towers.
Funding Source: Funding is largely through private support, with the late Charles Durham providing the lead gift. In addition, the state of Nebraska has committed $12 million in non-state general fund resources. The state support is intended primarily to construct bioterrorism preparedness laboratories and the State Public Health Lab within the tower. Other support is expected from federal monies.
Cost: $76.4 million
Location: Located only a few yards south of the Durham Research Center on the northwest corner of Durham Research Plaza (formerly 45th Street) and Emile Street. The two research towers will be connected with an interaction and conference area.
Serving Students: The tower will provide additional laboratory space in which graduate students will work and study.

Transplant Production Facility

Completion: March 2009
Project Details: Purpose is to develop treatments for patients with cancer, diabetes and liver failure along with the processing of cells, tissues and preparing solid organs for transplant. It is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated facility.
Serving Students: Provides new opportunities for translational research that strengthens patient care and enhances learning.
Funding Source: The facility will be jointly funded by UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center.
Cost: Estimated at $16.5 million
Location: Southwest corner of 42nd & Emile Street in a building that formerly housed the University Laundry.

Bennett Hall Renovation

Completion: August 2008
Project Details: Renovation of about 46,000 square feet of interior space provides an additional 25,000 net square feet of updated space. Brings together – for the first time ever in one location – the 10 educational programs that comprise the School of Allied Health Professions on Levels 3 through 6. The Department of Anesthesiology administrative and faculty offices remains on Level 2 and the Counseling and Student Development Center moves from the Student Life Center to Level 6.
Serving Students: Fosters sense of community among allied health faculty, staff and students; provides a 2,000-plus square foot classroom and laboratory for physical therapy and physician assistant students on Level 4; seats 42 students in remodeled amphitheater equipped for distance education; enhances student interaction and compliments the inter-professional core courses being developed.
Funding Source: LB605 (2006), which provides matching state funds to upgrade buildings on all four campuses of the University of Nebraska system and the state colleges.
Cost: $8.9 million
Location: Northwest corner of the intersection of 42nd Street and Emile Street.
Background: Built in 1918, Bennett Hall has seven levels and contains 64,494 gross square feet of space. An addition was made to the building in 1947 with a major renovation in 1962.

Weigel Williamson Center for Visual Rehabilitation

Opened: April 2008
Known as the Low Vision Center, it is the region’s only not-for-profit comprehensive center for visual rehabilitation of adults and children.
Location:  The new building is directly south of the Ronald McDonald House on the southwest corner of 38th Avenue and Jones Street.
Funding source:  Funding is through largely private support with the center’s lead gift from Dr. Harry and Beth Weigel of Auburn, Calif., and Robert and Alice Williamson of Omaha to the University of Nebraska Foundation. Dr. Harry Weigel is a 1958 graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine.
Other principal benefactors for the center include Gerald Christensen, M.D., and Mary Haven; Fred and Dakota Sturges; the Ethel S. Abbott Charitable Foundation, the Adah and Leon Millard Foundation, Dr. C. Rex & Janet Latta and the Straws Charitable Foundation.
Cost: $1.2 million
Building details: The 4,540 gross-square-foot, single story building features a residential home with assistive technology for people with low vision and a store where devices are available for clients to use before deciding whether to purchase them. Other spaces include a low vision adapted kitchen, bathroom, conference room, classroom and play area.
Serving students: Students who study optometry, ophthalmology, occupational therapy or nursing can work as part of the team of providers at the house.

Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education

Completion: June 2008
Building Details: The 134,183 square-foot, four level building features clinical skills laboratories that resemble hospital and exam rooms, small and large amphitheaters with theater-sized screens, small group classrooms,  interactive study rooms, and private study spaces.  A large student commons area, snack shop and bookstore are part of the center. The building also features the campus events center which will provide a setting for campus, alumni and community events. The College of Medicine offices are located on the 4th floor.
Serving Students: Thisstate-of-the-art health science education center enhanced the educational experience for all UNMC students. The building has smart classrooms featuring interactive technology; a clinical skills center where students can learn communications skills and practice clinical decision-making in a safe, simulated environment; teaching laboratories equipped with virtual microscopy; small group instruction rooms that support problem-based learning; small and large amphitheaters; a large interactive space featuring student lounges, study areas and other student-oriented amenities; a campus events center which will provide a setting for campus, alumni and community events and create an environment for the lifelong learning; and a beautifully landscaped green space around the facility where student and campus activities can take place.
Funding Source: Funding is through private support, with Ruth and Bill Scott making the largest donation. Other principal benefactors are The Nebraska Medical Center, Richard D. Holland, Dorothy and Stanley M. Truhlsen, M.D., The Lozier Foundation, UNMC Physicians, Dr. C.C. & Mabel L. Criss Memeorial Foundation, College of Medicine Alumni Association and Karen and Jim Linder, M.D.
Cost: $52.7 million (funded entirely by private donations)
Location: Northeast corner of the intersection of 42nd Street and Emile Street.

Gross Anatomy Lab Renovation

Completion: Summer 2008
Project Details: Provides 50 percent more space to accommodate larger class size and smaller groups (four) of students per cadaver table. Connected to the lab is an expanded Holyoke-Latta Self-Directed Learning Center and a separate lab for surgery residents to practice their skills before operating on patients.
Serving Students: Expands faculty teaching and student learning capabilities by incorporating the latest digital technology. Images can be projected onto 50-inch wide screens located near each dissecting table and a teaching gallery allows demonstrations to be videotaped and archived for student review. New locker rooms provide sufficient space for both men and women.
Funding Source: Private funds raised in association with the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education.
Cost: Approx. $2.5 million
Location: Wittson Hall

Olson Center for Women remodel

Reopened: October 2007
After undergoing remodeling, the center is Omaha’s first comprehensive outpatient center focused exclusively on women’s health. It houses physicians and other health care professionals in obstetrical and gynecological care, internal medicine, radiology, laboratory support and several subspecialties.
Location: Fourth floor of the Durham Outpatient Center, 42^nd and Emile Streets.
Funding Source: Funding is through largely private support with the center’s lead gift from Dr. Leland and Dorothy Olson.
Cost: $5 million
Building details: The 25,000 square foot center is double the size of a previous OB/GYN clinic.
Serving students: Students can learn and practice a team-approach to women’s care by working with a variety of health professionals.

Durham Research Center

Completion: November 2003
Building Details: The 289,000 square feet, 10 level building features 116 research laboratories and associated support services, a 319-seat auditorium; three classrooms; 12 conference/seminar rooms and public spaces. The research building is a cast-in-place concrete facility, as opposed to a steel building. Cast-in-place buildings are quieter and also designed to reduce traffic and other vibration to levels tolerable for research. 
Serving Students: Creates a research mall – the Durham Research Plaza on the west end of the UNMC campus – and enables UNMC graduate and doctorate students to study and work in a technologically enhanced research environment. The building has helped UNMC grow its research program in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences, transplantation biology, genetics and eye research.
Funding Source: Funding is through private support, with the late Chuck Durham providing the largest donation. Other principal benefactors are The Peter Kiewit Foundation, Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr., Ruth and Bill Scott, Mary and Richard Holland, Stanley M. Truhlsen, M.D., Gail Michael Yanney and Gail Walling Yanney, M.D., Criss Memorial Foundation
Cost: $77 million – all from private funds, except $2.5 million in federal funds. No state tax dollars are being used in the construction. State funding will be requested for operating and maintenance expenses.
Location: UNMC campus, 45th Street between Dewey Avenue and Emile Street (on the former site of the University Geriatric Center).

Lied Transplant Center

Completed: Fall 1998
The Lied Transplant Center, a partnership between the University of Nebraska Medical Center and The Nebraska Medical Center, provides UNMC researchers and multidisciplinary health-care professionals greater opportunities for interaction and collaboration. This unique environment allows our clinicians and researchers to develop innovative practice models in transplantation that are often essential to provide optimal care. The facility was one of the first of its kind when it was built in 1999 and includes:

• The Multi-Organ Transplant Clinic
• Ambulatory Care Center
• Laboratories dedicated to transplant research
• Patient Resource Center
• Health Education Center for transplant patients and families
• Hotel rooms

Patient care: Patients will visit the Lied Transplant Center for their clinic appointments and may take advantage of the unique Cooperative Care program. Patients outside the Omaha metro area may utilize the hotel services located in the Lied Transplant Center.
Cost: $61.3 million
Funding: From private and public sources, though no state tax dollars were used. Major donations came from the Lied Foundation Trust; the Cowdery family, whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer and received care at UNMC; and the Olson family, which helped support the Biomedical Research Laboratories in the transplant center.
Location: East of 42nd and Emile Streets