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News from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
New
Research, Public Health Space Going Up at UAMS Thanks to Tobacco Funds
APRIL 11, 2002 | Construction
has begun on facilities for biotechnology research and
public health education in Arkansas thanks to funding
from the state’s share of the nationwide tobacco
settlement.
The Arkansas Biotechnology Institute (ABI) and the College
of Public Health (CPH) are under construction
on the campus of the University of Arkansas for
Medical Sciences (UAMS).
The
ABI is a partnership of scientists from the University
of Arkansas (UA) Division of Agriculture, UAMS, the
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (UAF), Arkansas
Children’s Hospital (ACH), and Arkansas State
University (ASU). It was created as part of the
Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act, endorsed by 64
percent of voters in a 2000 general election.
CPH,
the newest college at UAMS, part of the University of
Arkansas System, is training professionals who can
help solve public health problems such as Arkansas’s
high rate of smoking-related illnesses. Classes are
meeting temporarily in borrowed spaces around the UAMS
campus. Some of the state’s revenue from the
nationwide tobacco settlement will support the
operation of the college as well as expansion of the
building.
The
ABI bulding will stand at the crest of the hill on Elm
Street and will “flow downhill” northward along
Elm Street toward Plateau Street. It will be joined to
the existing Biomedical Research Center and will
provide nearly 143,000 square feet of needed
additional space for state-of-the-art research labs,
departmental and faculty offices, conference rooms and
research support facilities. (See map.)
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An artist’s rendering of the Arkansas Biotechnology
Institute
An artist’s rendering of Education Building III, which
will be the home of the College of Public Health
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The
preparatory earthwork, footings, and foundation walls for the
ABI are underway. Construction drawings for the shell of the
building are scheduled for completion in mid-April, and work on
the steel superstructure will begin in mid-May.
The
design team for the ABI building consists of Polk Stanley Yeary
Architects, Tinsley-Mullen engineers and I.C.E. Inc. The
contractor for the project is Baldwin and Shell Construction.
The
university is adding six stories to an existing two-story
classroom building, Education Building III, to provide space for
the new College of Public Health. When completed in the summer
of 2003, this building will contain 120,000 square feet of space
for classrooms, college and faculty offices, labs and support
space. The new facade of the building will face Markham Street.
Ironworkers have installed vertical steel stubs on what is now
the roof of the building as attachment piers for the ascending
steel superstructure of the building. A sub-contractor recently
installed a huge construction crane at the site as a prelude to
rigging the steel beams and joists into place. Campus Drive was
closed in late March so that the street could become the staging
area for this steel work. Finished drawings for this building
are due on or before July 1.
The
design team for this building includes The Wilcox Group
Architects, Tinsley-Mullen Engineers and I.C.E. Inc. The project
general contractor is Nabholz Construction of Conway.
Leo
Gehring, executive director for campus operations, recently
explained that the
buildings are “fast track” projects: designed, bid, and
built on a flexible time schedule according to modern
construction management techniques. The process saves time,
money and effort compared to the traditional method of designing
the entire project, seeking bids from contractors as a package
deal, and then building it according to the plans.
Links
on This Page
Women, Minorities: http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/031402/coph.htm
President Clinton: http://www.uams.edu/today/2002/021402/stephens.htm
Tobacco Settlement Funds: http://www.uams.edu/today/011702/tobacco.htm
College of Public Health: http://www.uams.edu/coph/default.htm
Map: http://www.uams.edu/maps/biomed.htm
© 2002 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). A
single copy of these materials may be reprinted for
noncommercial personal use only. “UAMS,” “UAMS Medical
Center,” “UAMS Online,” “UAMS Today,” “uams.edu,”
and “Here’s to Your Health” are marks of UAMS.
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08/14/03 |
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