Interdisciplinary Science Building Construction to Start Later This Month
March 16, 2016
ST. LOUIS – Work will begin on the Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) later this month, it was announced at the March 1 Webster Groves City Council meeting. Crews will begin by staking out the physical perimeter of the building, then preparing the ground. The construction is expected to be completed in 2017.
When completed, the building is expected to help fill the needs of the community by offering robust STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math and medicine) programs. Several studies over the years have forecast a dramatic increase in jobs in the region that require employees to have STEAMM-related preparation.
“This state-of-the-art building will meet the needs of Webster’s students and faculty, advance the region’s growing strengths, and support collaboration among faculty, staff, and students across multiple disciplines,” said Elizabeth (Beth) J. Stroble, president of Webster University. “I look forward to the day we open the long-anticipated Interdisciplinary Science Building because the hopes and plans of our students, faculty, staff, donors, trustees and community supporters who have called for a science building for many years will be fulfilled.”
A groundbreaking ceremony for the ISB was held in September 2015 and plans for how the building will look were unveiled. The building is planned to be “L” shaped and will be built just north of the East Academic Building (EAB). Joining the two structures at the north end of the EAB will make it easier to travel between the two structures.
When it opens, it will house the departments of Anthropology and Sociology, Biological Sciences, International Language and Cultures, Nurse Anesthesia, Nursing, Psychology and the Institute of Human Rights. Overall, the ISB will add 25 laboratory classrooms, four dedicated classrooms, a dual computation laboratory/classroom, 51 faculty offices (with six for adjunct faculty), 20 staff offices, and a 129-seat auditorium. There also will be commons areas throughout the building for students and faculty to collaborate and hold study sessions.
“Construction of the Interdisciplinary Science Building has been a pinnacle of the University’s comprehensive master plan. The plan envisions a connected and attractive environment on the Webster Groves campus that embodies the global culture and character of the University, ” said Julian Schuster, the provost, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Webster University. “This building will provide more than additional space, it will be a place where our students, faculty and staff will shape their ideas and create new innovative solutions for the most pressing challenges facing our local communities, as well as global society.”
The building will be about 85,000 square feet. The estimated cost of the project, including all the new equipment for the building, is estimated at $44 million.
With its home campus in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, Webster University (www.webster.edu) comprises an action-oriented global network of faculty, staff, students and alumni who forge powerful bonds with each other and with their communities around the globe. Founded in 1915, Webster is a private non-profit university with more than 17,000 students studying at campus locations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and in a robust learning environment online. The university is committed to delivering high-quality learning experiences that transform students for global citizenship and individual excellence.