In recognition of his generous gift, UNMC 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.
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UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., and Charles Durham unveil the name of the new research building. |
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 the 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 governmental leaders.
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.
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Charles Durham and Julie Vose, M.D., professor of internal medicine. |
“Today is an extraordinary day for UNMC,” Dr. Maurer said during the ceremony. “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 of 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.
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Charles Durham, chairman and chief executive officer, Durham Foundation |
NU Regent Randy Ferlic |
Terry Fairfield, NU Foundation president |
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. |
Julie Vose, professor, internal medicine |
L. Dennis Smith, NU president |
Walter Scott, chairman emeritus, Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc. |
“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 Wednesday 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.), the Scott Neuroscience Research Laboratories (Ruth and Bill Scott), Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, Truhlsen Eye Research Laboratories, Yanney Seminar Center, and the Criss Foundation Seminar Center.