EAST LANSING, Mich. — About 60 members of Michigan State University's College of Nursing recently toured the college's new Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research, a facility that when completed in fall will spur research endeavors and help the state address its nursing shortage.
Construction workers, who broke ground Sept. 24, are about 70 percent complete with the new building. The $17.6 million facility is being built adjacent to the Life Sciences building, the current home of the college at Service Road and Bogue Street on the East Lansing campus. A grand opening is set for Nov. 2; details will be released during the summer.
Dean Mary Mundt and fellow college leaders recently led faculty and staff through the building, which features state-of-the-art research space as well as an open design featuring an abundance of natural light.
"We are closing in on a major milestone for the college," Mundt said. "Thanks to the National Institutes of Health and the amazing generosity of our donors and partners, we will greatly expand our research portfolio and enhance the experience of our students."
The three-story, 50,000-square-foot building will be submitted for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, meaning it incorporates sustainable environmental design. The Bott Building also will be the first on campus to use ground-source geothermal energy for heating and cooling; for more information, click on http://bit.ly/GKDUbe.
As lead donors, the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation committed $7 million to the project; the building will be named in honor of Bernadette's parents, John and Anna Bott.
The college's expansion effort also was made possible by a $7.45 million stimulus funding grant from the National Institutes of Health to support nursing research; it was the largest competitive federal stimulus grant that MSU received.
The first floor of the building will be devoted to student services, classrooms, a teaching lab and a gathering space for students to study. The other two floors will provide dedicated space for nursing faculty researchers and Ph.D. students working in the areas of chronic illness and healthy lifestyles.
For more information on the College of Nursing, visit http://www.msunursing.org/.
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