State approves future of Ball State's STEM and Health Professions Facility Expansion project

<p>Shown above is a rendering of the new health professions building at night.&nbsp;The Board of Trustees announced the construction of the new health building on the corner of Riverside and Martin on Dec. 16.&nbsp;The 167,000 square-foot building will cost $62.5 million and will house the college of health, a clinic, spaces for classrooms, program spaces and an outdoor quad.&nbsp;<em>Joan Todd</em><em style="background-color: initial;">&nbsp;// Photo Provided</em></p>

Shown above is a rendering of the new health professions building at night. The Board of Trustees announced the construction of the new health building on the corner of Riverside and Martin on Dec. 16. The 167,000 square-foot building will cost $62.5 million and will house the college of health, a clinic, spaces for classrooms, program spaces and an outdoor quad. Joan Todd // Photo Provided

State lawmakers have agreed to fully fund phase two of Ball State’s Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) and Health Professions Facility Expansion Project. 

The future of the $87.5 million project, discussed at Friday's Board of Trustees meeting, will fund a new 175,000-square-foot facility that will house biology, chemistry and geology departments. The new building will “allow the foundational sciences academic programs to grow on campus and will serve as a vital pipeline to the state’s life sciences sector,” according to a university press release.

"[The bonds] will advance our university's priorities on providing students with educational opportunities in cutting-edge environments that simulate the worlds in which they will work after graduation," said interim president Terry King in an email to faculty.

RELATED: University receives $87.5 million from state for STEM programs

Work on phase one is expected to start in late June as the project is currently in the competitive bidding stage.

The new $62.5 million health professions building, located in the East Quad, will encompass about 165,000 square feet and house nursing and health science programs as the university's new College of Health. The building will have classrooms, laboratories, offices, a resource hub, simulation labs/suites and clinical spaces, according to a university press release.

According to a previous Daily News report, the new facility funding will allow the university to continue to clear out the Cooper Science Complex for renovations, something that King said “needs to be replaced” during a University Senate meeting in late March.

RELATED: Students send letters to state legislators to help replace Cooper

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