The University of Nebraska Medical Center will open the doors soon to
a 10-level, state-of-the-art research building.
The $77 million Durham Research Center, built almost exclusively with
private funds, will hold its dedication ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 13.
A public open house is scheduled for between 1 and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov.
16.
This research center will be a beacon for UNMC, Chancellor Harold
M. Maurer, M.D. said. It will be a source of pride for all of the scientists
who, in this building, will search for new and novel treatments to many
debilitating and devastating diseases.
Among the dignitaries invited to attend the dedication ceremony are
Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns, Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman, U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel
and Ben Nelson, U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, Board of Regents President Randy Ferlic,
M.D., University of Nebraska President L. Dennis Smith, Ph.D., University
of Nebraska Foundation President Terry Fairfield and Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey.
Also expected to attend are many of the philanthropists who made the Durham
Research Center possible, most notably Chuck Durham.
Chucks gifts to UNMC could be best described as transforming, Dr.
Maurer said. For many years to come, Nebraska citizens will benefit from
Chucks vision and tremendous generosity, as well as the laudable giving
spirit of the other donors.
Of the research centers cost, Nebraskas Congressional delegation secured
$2.5 million in federal funds for the project. The private sector provided
gifts for the rest of the cost; no state funds were involved.
In addition to Durham, the principal donors of the Durham Research Center
are: the Peter Kiewit Foundation; Suzanne and Walter Scott Jr.; Ruth and
Bill Scott; Stanley Truhlsen, M.D.; Mary and Dick Holland; The Dr. C.C.
and Mabel L. Criss Memorial Foundation; Gail Walling Yanney, M.D., and
Michael Yanney; and a donor who has asked to remain anonymous.
The named floors/areas of the research center include the Suzanne and
Walter Scott, Jr. Atrium and Education Center; the Ruth and Bill Scott
Neurosciences Research Laboratories; the Stanley M. Truhlsen, M.D., Eye
Research Laboratories; the Mary and Richard Holland Cardiovascular Research
Laboratories; the Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Seminar Center; the Peter
Kiewit Foundation Transplant Biology Research Laboratories; and the Gail
Walling Yanney, M.D., Seminar Center.
This research facility has the potential to make a difference in so
many lives, Durham said. It is an honor to be associated with a medical
center that has a vision to be world-class, to improve the health of all
Nebraskans and beyond, advance medical knowledge through research and educate
outstanding health professionals and scientists.
Durham serves as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of
Durham Resources. Previously, he served as chairman and CEO of HDR, Inc.,
an international engineering and architectural firm with work in all 50
states and 20 countries. The amount of the gift is not being made public
at Durhams request.
Durham and his late wife, Margre, have been generous contributors to
UNMC. In 1998, they established the Charles W. and Margre H. Durham Excellence
in Medicine fund at UNMC to support research in prostate cancer, arthritis
and minimally invasive surgery. Their support made it possible for UNMC
to be the eighth medical center in the country to acquire the robotic da
Vinci Surgical System, putting Nebraska on the map in the area of computer-assisted
surgery. In recognition of their gift, the Outpatient Care Center was renamed
the Durham Outpatient Center. Durhams gifts also made possible the employee
parking garage, which is located southeast of the intersection of Emile
and 45th Streets.
The Durham Research Center is 289,000 gross square feet, and it towers
over the western edge of UNMC. The research center features 116 research
laboratories, a 319-seat auditorium, three classrooms and 12 conference/seminar
rooms. About 55 of UNMCs top researchers, accounting for nearly $55 million
in extramural support, will move to the building. About 25 percent of the
buildings space is being left open for research expansion and the recruitment
of new, top-level researchers. The plaza area adjoining the Durham Research
Center 45th Street from Emile Street to Dewey Avenue and Dewey Avenue
from 45th Street to 44th Street has been named the Durham Research Plaza.
Research space in the Durham Research Center was filled through a competitive
process. Scientists with similar research interests but from different
areas and departments on campus have been assigned adjacent lab spaces
in the center. Dr. Maurer said hes confident that affinity groups will
result from the unique interdisciplinary concept.
I anticipate a tremendous boost in our research support, as result
of this arrangement, Dr. Maurer said. The sparks are going to fly in
that building.