New Building—Opening in 2009—is Central to Campaign for Excellence in Science

Science education at DePaul University is about to get greener.

Kicking off a Campaign for Excellence in Science, DePaul broke ground June 6 on a $40 million, environmentally friendly science building. The ground breaking ceremony was held at 11 a.m. in Parking Lot B on Belden Avenue, between Clifton and Seminary avenues. The building will be named for Msgr. Andrew J. McGowan, brother of William G. McGowan, the late founder of MCI Communications and the namesake for DePaul’s first science building which was completed in 1998 and lies just north of the new building.

Serving as co-chairs of DePaul’s Excellence in Science Campaign, are DePaul trustees, Frank Clark, chairman and CEO of ComEd; and Sue L. Gin, chairman of Flying Food Group, Inc. Gin attended the ceremony and offered remarks. DePaul graduating senior and chemistry major Shannon McGinty spoke also about the difference the new science building will make for future DePaul students. McGinty will begin medical school at Washington University in the fall.

The building is a core component of DePaul’s $20 million Campaign for Excellence in Science, designed to prepare exceptionally educated professionals to meet the needs of Illinois’ scientific and medical communities.

The State of Illinois, through its Capital Development Board, has contributed $9 million to the campaign and is a major partner in promoting science education at DePaul University. The campaign also will fund scholarships and expand initiatives to enrich science education at both the collegiate and K-12 levels.

A gift of $2 million has been provided by the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund to name the building. Gin, who also is the McGowan Fund’s board president, pointed out that the foundation and DePaul share a vision of maximizing human potential through education.

“Advancing youth through education is a key component of the fund’s mission. We are pleased to partner with DePaul University in the advancement of its sciences program,” Gin noted. “Not only will this new building improve the university’s ability to train scientists, teachers and professionals, but ultimately, it will expand DePaul’s capacity to provide excellence in education to underserved youth who wish to pursue an education and career in science. That is exciting!”

Additional gifts from numerous corporations, foundations and donors have resulted in DePaul’s fundraising efforts exceeding the $14 million mark as of May 31.

“We believe it is critical to provide our next generation’s scientists with an education of the highest level if our society is to remain healthy, internationally prominent and economically strong,” said the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M, DePaul president. “The building, scholarships and initiatives supported by the Campaign for Excellence in Science are key components of our strategic plan for academic enrichment.”

Classes taught by DePaul’s science faculty range from undergraduate courses to those designed for science teachers. Science at DePaul is taught in an innovative and collaborative fashion that reaches across science disciplines. It involves other departments within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, partnerships with the School of Education, K-12 educators, scientific agencies, companies and museums. The spacious new building—combined with funding for upgraded equipment, program development and student scholarship support—is expected to increase innovative teaching initiatives at DePaul.

Construction of the 129,000-square foot, four-story structure began on June 7. McGowan South—scheduled for completion by November of 2008—will be the future home of the departments of chemistry and environmental science. The biology department also will occupy 6,000 square feet of space outside of its main home in McGowan North. Students will begin classes in the new building in January of 2009.

The building is designed by the architectural firm of Antunovich Associates of Chicago, with Earl Walls Associates of San Diego serving as laboratory consultants. The Meyne Company will serve as general contractor for the building project.

To be connected to McGowan North by a second-floor bridge, the structure will include 23 research labs, eight dedicated teaching laboratories, five large tiered classrooms and a multipurpose room that converts from a classroom to a lab. The roof will contain two greenhouses—one for teaching and one for research—as well as an environmentally friendly section of “green roof.”

While all recent DePaul construction has been designed to be energy efficient, the new science building is the first university structure to seek certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. Under this rating system, buildings accrue points based on energy-efficient design, use of recycled products and LEED-certified building materials, such as paint, and by ensuring that construction byproducts are recycled. The building’s LEED status is determined by the number of points earned. DePaul is expected to earn silver-level LEED status.

According to James A. Montgomery, chair of environmental sciences, the building will serve as a teaching tool, not simply a teaching facility. By tracking energy consumption, students will be able to compare levels of utility usage of McGowan South with that of a less energy efficient edifice.

“We may even have a competition to see which dorm can reduce energy consumption,” said Montgomery. “One of the long-lasting effects of monitoring aimed at changing human behavior is that the social sciences, such as sociology and psychology, come into play as well.”

Click to view a live Web cam of McGowan South construction.