UNMC will recognize the generous spirit of its supporters and alumni with a formal groundbreaking ceremony for the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education on April 4.
The ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. on the northwest corner of the site near the College of Pharmacy (just north of the intersection of 42nd and Emile Streets).
A campus reception will follow. Watch UNMC Today for details.
“This groundbreaking signifies another step forward in providing outstanding education and training for our students and future health care professionals,” said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. “It also recognizes the generosity of many people who support our mission of being a premier academic health science center.”
The new education building is named in honor of Michael F. Sorrell, M.D., a legendary physician and administrator at UNMC for the past 35 years. Naming the building in honor of Dr. Sorrell was the idea of Omahans Ruth and Bill Scott, who made the largest donation to the University of Nebraska Foundation for the $52.7 million building.
The UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association invites all alumni to attend the Pre-Groundbreaking Celebration on April 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the UNMC Alumni House, 510 S. 38th Ave. Attending alumni will sign the brick that will be used during the groundbreaking ceremony to represent the support of the College of Medicine alumni.
Parking will be available in the northeast corner of Lot 15 behind the Alumni House (enter the lot from 40th Street, Dewey Avenue or Jones Street). Alumni are asked to RSVP for the pre-groundbreaking celebration at 559-4385 or alumni@unmc.edu by March 28.
The 134,183-square-foot center – which is expected to be completed by the fall of 2008 — will serve as home to the UNMC College of Medicine and will provide state-of-the-art educational resources for all UNMC students. Some of the features of the building include technologically enhanced classrooms, patient-focused clinical skills laboratories, a multi-purpose conference space for continuing education and important student interaction space that will provide enhanced interdisciplinary educational opportunities.
In addition to Ruth and Bill Scott, principal donors for the project include: Allan and Dianne Lozier, Dr. Stanley and Dorothy Truhlsen, The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC Physicians, the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Memorial Foundation, the UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Association and James Linder, M.D., associate vice chancellor for research at UNMC. Ruth and Bill Scott, Dr. Stanley and Dorothy Truhlsen and the Criss Foundation also were major donors to the Durham Research Center at UNMC, which opened two years ago.
In addition, College of Medicine alumni across the country have made contributions to the project. The newly established Edward A. Holyoke, M.D., Ph.D., Society honors Dr. Holyoke, who taught anatomy for more than 60 years in the College of Medicine, as well as recognizes individuals who have given $100,000 or more to the project.
College of Medicine alumni who contributed $5,000 or more will be prominently recognized on class plaques displayed as part of the College’s Wall of Honor inside the building.
Construction crews have been drilling holes for the new building’s concrete pilings, which act as underground ‘stilts,” since January. The four-story building, to be completely funded by donor gifts, will rise from that foundation. Watch the progress of construction via UNMC’s Web cam at www.unmc.edu:80/chse/.