NEWS • Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Sept. 29, 2015
Deb Nahrgang / Communication Director
phone: 507-457-6966 / fax: 507-457-6967 / email: dnahrgan@smumn.edu
web: www.smumn.edu/newsblog
Media are invited to attend the groundbreaking. Please notify Deb Nahrgang at 507-457-6966 or
dnahrgan@smumn.edu if you plan to attend.
Saint Mary’s to break ground Oct. 9
on new $19 million Science and Learning Center
WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota will break ground at 12:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 9, on an innovative new Science and Learning Center at its Winona Campus. The
public is invited to help the university usher in a new vision for science education excellence
at Saint Mary’s.
The cost of the project—Saint Mary’s most ambitious building project to date—is estimated
at $19 million. Saint Mary’s has raised $13 million toward Phase 1 of its science initiative;
fundraising for the initiative is ongoing.
With an architectural vision that reflects the natural beauty of the Winona Campus, this new
50,000 square-foot contemporary Science and Learning Center will attach to the existing
Adducci Science Center and become a focal point of the campus.
Highlights of the building include:
• State-of-the-art classrooms and labs that will serve as optimal learning environments and
provide a platform for increased research opportunities.
• A layout specially designed to promote hands-on learning opportunities.
• An interior atrium that will visually connect all three floors and welcome sunlight from the
building’s skylights, creating ideal spaces for study and student interactions outside of the
classroom.
• A 120-seat tiered auditorium that will accommodate multi-purpose events for the campus
and community.
Saint Mary’s President Brother William Mann said, “We’re building an environment for
students who aspire to careers of consequence in science. Our rigorous training prepares
students to succeed in highly competitive graduate and professional programs in medicine,
research, and environmental sciences, and science education. This new Science and Learning
Center will give our students an even greater career advantage.”
Wight & Company of Chicago is serving as the architect and general contractor. Construction
will begin immediately after the groundbreaking, and the building is estimated to be
completed by June 2017.
About Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota awakens, nurtures, and empowers learners to ethical
lives of leadership and service. At Saint Mary’s, students find in every classroom—whether in
person or online—a relationship-driven, person-centered education. Through intense inquiry,
students discover the truths in the world and the character within. Founded in 1912 and
accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota enrolls
5,800 students at its residential undergraduate college in Winona and its Schools of Graduate
and Professional Programs, based in Minneapolis but extending worldwide. Saint Mary’s
offers respected and affordable programs in a variety of areas leading to bachelor's,
bachelor's completion, master's, certificate, specialist, and doctoral degrees. Learn more at
smumn.edu.
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