On Friday, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved a privately funded budget increase and scope change for the Wittson Hall renovation and Wigton Heritage Center Project on UNMC’s Omaha campus.
The additional $4.7 million in private funds will support the creation of an outdoor plaza to the north of the Wigton Heritage Center atrium. The plaza will serve as a place of respite for faculty, staff and students in the historic part of campus.
Funds from the proposed budget increase also will support digital exhibit space. These exhibits will tell UNMC’s story and history through McGoogan Library’s vast special collections, artifacts, archives and rare books.
The Wittson Hall renovation also will provide faculty office space on the eighth floor. Fifty percent of the budget increase associated with this space will be provided by Nebraska Medicine in support of the clinical mission accomplished by these faculty.
“The McGoogan Library staff are excited at the progress on the library’s renovation,” said Emily McElroy, dean of the McGoogan Library of Medicine. “We are also actively involved in developing content for the exhibits as part of the Wigton Heritage Center. We are grateful for the private support in bringing the university and Nebraska’s contributions to a larger audience.”
Per the regents’ briefing materials, capital funding for all components in this scope and budget change has been committed through private funds. These commitments further demonstrate the ongoing public-private partnerships on the UNMC campus