Oxford College’s largest structure is rising as a symbol of how philanthropy can make exceptional science education at Emory University even better.
At 57,400 square feet, the Oxford College Science Building is on schedule to open for classes in spring 2016. Because every Oxford student is required to take at least one laboratory course, the new science building will influence the education of all students at Oxford. Because Oxford faculty members teach their own laboratory classes, the science building will further the Oxford ideal of teaching and knowing each student as an individual learner.
Ground was broken in May 2014, and recent milestones include foundation work, wall framing of several floors, pouring of the elevated deck on the third floor, and the completion of the mock-up wall for exterior finishes. The building is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification for energy efficiency.
“Having a science facility that can meet the needs of our thriving science curriculum has been our primary goal for a number of years,” Oxford Dean Stephen Bowen said. “The completion of this building will have an enormous impact.”
Key donors helped make the $29 million project possible. Along with major funding from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, individual donors include Robert Trulock Dickson 72OX 74C, a retired gastroenterologist and Oxford College Board of Counselors member; H. Duane Blair 48OX 50C 54M 58MR, a retired general surgeon from DeKalb Medical Center and his wife, Emy Blair; and Jane Bostwick, who is honoring her late husband, John Bostwick III 62OX 64C 73MR 75MR, one of the nation’s leading experts in breast reconstruction after cancer surgery.
Design plans call for the building to be clad in red brick, used in several of Oxford’s historic buildings, with elements of the locally quarried granite that adorns many buildings around the campus.
Located on the northwest corner of the Oxford quad, the new facility will feature nine laboratories for biology, chemistry, physics, and environmental and field sciences; four open collaborative spaces; three classrooms; three laboratories for cross-disciplinary faculty and student research; three quiet study rooms; an instrument room; an imaging center; and faculty offices. The science building will offer an outdoor porch, second-floor balcony study area, and a grand atrium known as “The Nucleus.“
For those who wish to follow the building’s progress, two web cameras on the construction site stream images of the ongoing work to emory.edu.
Donors to the Oxford Science Teaching Equipment Fund are helping fund the remaining $750,000 needed to purchase necessary scientific and technological equipment for the building’s laboratories, classrooms, and research spaces. This fund is one of the dean’s priorities at Oxford. For more information, contact Kevin Smyrl at 770.784.4637 or kevin.smyrl@emory.edu.