Peter Kiewit Foundation Makes $17.5 Million Grant
to Help Fund UNMC Research Center of Excellence
In its largest gift ever to the University of Nebraska, the Peter Kiewit
Foundation has made a $17.5 million grant to help fund construction of
the Research Center of Excellence at the University of Nebraska Medical
Center.
The research center will be built on the west end of the UNMC campus
at 45th Street between Dewey Avenue and Emile Street on the present site
of the University Geriatric Center. Construction of the $77 million, 284,000-square
foot building will begin in April 2001 with completion in 2003.
“The Peter Kiewit Foundation has a long tradition of investing in projects
that will benefit the entire state and advance the state’s economy,” said
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D. I’m absolutely thrilled that the
foundation has deemed our research center to be worthy of this major funding.
It’s an incredible show of support for the project, and it reaffirms our
belief that the Research Center of Excellence will produce results that
will impact all Nebraskans for generations to come. “The Kiewit Foundation
gift is a perfect example of how public and private entities can join together
to do wonderful things that benefit all of society.”
The project is part of an overall $137.3 million fund raising initiative
for the University of Nebraska Foundation. The initiative also includes
construction of three other buildings on the UNMC/Nebraska Health System
campus B a $40 million clinical building linking NHS University Hospital
and NHS Clarkson Hospital at 43rd and Dewey Avenue; a $10 million parking
garage at 44th and Emile streets; and a $10.3 million utility plant at
40th Street and Dewey Avenue.
The Peter Kiewit Foundation gift is the second major donation toward
the Research Center of Excellence. In August, Omaha philanthropist Charles
(Chuck) Durham, chairman of the Durham Foundation, made a donation believed
to be the largest single gift ever received by UNMC. The amount of that
gift will remain confidential at the donor’s request.
“Our trustees are pleased to be able to offer this kind of support to
the visionary research that UNMC is conducting,” said Lyn Wallin Ziegenbein,
executive director of the Peter Kiewit Foundation. “Peter Kiewit was a
builder during his lifetime. He would be proud of this grant made by his
trustees which will promote the health and wellness of all Nebraskans,
offer research leadership worldwide and strengthen the state’s economy.
“The Medical Center is something that all Nebraskans are proud of. Being
recognized for excellence in an extremely competitive field is a source
of pride for our state. We believe that the Research Center of Excellence
will provide the optimal research environment for many exciting scientific
initiatives.”
Ziegenbein said the Peter Kiewit Foundation has a long history of supporting
the University of Nebraska. In 1996, the Kiewit Foundation made a $15 million
grant to help fund construction of the Peter Kiewit Institute of Information
Science, Technology and Engineering on the University of Nebraska at Omaha
campus. In addition, the foundation currently has a $500,000 grant to the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln to help in the renovation of the College
of Journalism. The Kiewit Foundation has donated nearly $44 million to
the University of Nebraska since 1980.
Dr. Maurer said the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce has gone on record
as saying that UNMC and the Peter Kiewit Institute of Information
Science, Technology and Engineering at UNO are two of the most significant
institutions in the long-term economic future of Omaha.
Terry Fairfield, president and chief executive officer of the University
of Nebraska Foundation, said: “The Peter Kiewit Foundation has been incredibly
supportive of the University of Nebraska over the years. Words can’t
adequately express our appreciation for a gift of this magnitude. I have
no doubt that this gift — like the foundation’s previous contributions
B will advance university programs to new levels of excellence.”
The research center will include 116 research laboratories, a 225-seat
auditorium, two smaller auditoriums with 80- and 40-seat capacities, and
approximately 14 classrooms or seminar rooms. Enclosed and outdoor pedestrian
walkways will link the new facility to the rest of the campus. State funding
would be requested for operating and maintenance expenses for the research
center, Dr. Maurer said.
When completed, it will create a research plaza on the west end of the
UNMC campus. In addition to the Research Center of Excellence, the research
mall would include Swanson Hall, which includes a variety of research labs,
and the Munroe-Meyer Institute, which houses the Hattie B. Munroe Center
for Human Molecular Genetics. Both the research plaza and the Research
Center of Excellence will be named in honor of the Durhams.
Previously, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the
program statement for the Research Center of Excellence at its May meeting.
Final plans for the building should be ready to submit to the regents in
December.
Dr. Maurer said the research center will enable UNMC to enhance its
research in a number of areas including cancer, organ transplantation biology,
neurosciences, cardiovascular diseases, developmental biology, genetics
and molecular genetics.
Thirty percent of UNMC’s existing research space has been deemed unsuitable
by National Science Foundation standards. Laboratories in Poynter, Bennett
and Shackelford halls and the University Geriatric Center cannot accommodate
the highly technical research of UNMC scientists.
When he became chancellor nearly two years ago, Dr. Maurer established
a goal for UNMC to double its research funding in five years and triple
it in 10 years. During the past year, UNMC’s research funding increased
by 31 percent and now exceeds $40 million, including more than $25 million
in federal funding from such sources as the National Institutes of Health,
the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and Veterans Administration.
The Peter Kiewit Foundation was formed in 1980 from the estate of the
late Omahan, Peter Kiewit, who died in 1979. It is the largest private,
independent foundation in Nebraska and has assets of nearly $600 million.
In its 20 years of operation, it has awarded grants totaling more than
$335 million throughout the state of Nebraska. It is not related in any
way to the operating companies which bear Peter Kiewit’s name.