The University of Nebraska Board of Regents has approved the renovation of the Joseph D. & Millie E. Williams Science Hall for repurposing and to bring it up to current standards.
The Williams Science Hall for years served as the home for the College of Pharmacy, which has since relocated its headquarters to the UNMC Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education. Several COP investigators will keep their labs in the renovated Williams Science Hall.
But, renovation will allow the replacement of obsolete mechanical and electrical systems; the installation of larger and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant restrooms; and, an update of the building’s telecommunications infrastructure.
Additionally, the Williams Science Hall will serve as the home for the UNMC High School Alliance. And, the College of Pharmacy’s former administration and education space will be repurposed to house UNMC Student Services, Graduate Studies and International Health and Medical Education offices.
The building’s remaining labs will be renovated, in order to keep its investigators competitive in the search for new discoveries and research funding.
In other business, the board approved:
- The appointment of UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., as chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha with no increase in salary;
- The naming of the Dr. Edwin Davis & Dorothy Balbach Davis Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning; and
- A project budget to remove underground tanks and concrete from university properties at 4605 Farnam St. and 795 S. 48th St., previously occupied by Omaha Steel Castings, to remediate and restore the properties for future use.