The Russ College of Engineering and Technology and the College of Osteopathic Medicine's plans to construct an open research and classroom building moved one step closer to fruition this month, but they still are looking for $10 million for the project.
The schematic design was completed last week, which included rough shapes of what the rooms will look like and general ideas for what they'll be used for, said Dennis Irwin, dean of the College of Engineering. Burgess & Niple, an engineering and architectural firm in Columbus, is working on the plans it will present to construction companies for bids in about nine months, Irwin said.
About two-thirds of the $30 million cost has been raised. The Osteopathic Heritage Foundation donated $10 million to the College of Osteopathic Medicine, said John Brose, dean of the college. Charles Stuckey, a graduate of the College of Engineering and trustee for the Ohio University Foundation, donated $5 million to the engineering college and the other $5 million was raised from several sources, Irwin said.
Former OU president and now leadership gifts officer Robert Glidden changed his main focus from raising money for the proposed new alumni center to this building, which will be called the Integrated Learning and Research Facility, Glidden said.
I made a number of calls for the (facility) in January and February
in Ohio in the Bay Area of California and in the San Diego area
Glidden said in an e-mail, adding he also traveled to California for other purposes. Although the trip was not paid by OU, he promoted the university's fund-raising initiatives. These were initial calls for the ILRF and most of them were followed up with formal proposals
but it's too early for responses yet.
He said he will call more people in May, and Irwin, Brose and others also are fund-raising.
The colleges teamed up last summer when both saw the need for more research and classroom space, Brose said. When the donations came in, Stuckey's in 2004 and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation's in 2005, Brose, Irwin, OU President Roderick McDavis and others met and decided to collaborate the funds to create one building.
Currently, both of the colleges' primary research facilities are in converted residence halls, Irvine Hall and Stocker Center on West Green.
The space we have now is not adequate to do collaborative research
Brose said, adding that bioengineers and researches from the College of Osteopathic Medicine, with larger space, could team up to study ways to make drug delivery systems more efficient. Some require just larger spaces
but others are working in basements and other facilities not designed as research labs.
OU hired an outside firm, Comprehensive Facilities Planning, Inc., to conduct a space utilization and management study, which assesses what kind of space is needed in an institution based on the square footage needs of individuals, said Tom Daniels, director of space management for OU planning and implementation. The study found that the two primary areas needing more space at OU are teaching laboratories and research laboratories.
If we consider
for example
the College of Engineering
right now today ' the space study suggests that the college has nearly a 15
000 square foot deficit of research space
