On Nov. 2, the MSU College of Nursing hosted the dedication ceremony for the new Bott Building for Nursing Education and Research, a three-story, 50,000-square-foot center for students, researchers, practitioners and educators to come together to shape the future of health care.
“The new building demonstrates the college’s dedication to advance the education of our students and to strengthen our research infrastructure,” College of Nursing Dean Mary Mundt said. “It will enable new opportunities for research collaboration and mentorship that positively influences the future of nursing.”
The first floor includes classrooms, conference rooms, a student lounge and an atrium. The second and third floors provide space for the Nursing Research Center, where researchers study obesity prevention, symptom management, cancer, gerontology and health promotion.
It is the first building on campus to use geothermal energy for heating and cooling, and it is expected to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The college broke ground for the building in 2010, thanks to a $7 million lead gift from the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation. The building name honors John and Anna Bott, the parents of Bernadette Marquez, an MSU nursing alumna.
More than 1,000 additional donors contributed to the building fund, including major gifts from Elaine and Dale LaLonde and Janice and Alton Granger. Those contributions helped MSU secure a $7.45 million construction grant from the National Institutes of Health to expand the college’s research capacity.
The Bott Building brings together the College of Nursing’s faculty and students in one central location for the first time in 20 years. The new facility will help the college respond to the national shortage of nurses and nursing educators and engage in solving the country’s top health challenges.