In recognition of his generous gift, the University of Nebraska Medical
Center has named its newest research building in honor of Omaha philanthropist
Charles Durham.
The announcement was made on Oct. 23 during a ceremony in the facility
that will bear the Durham name. The facility — formerly the Research Center
of Excellence — will now be called the Durham Research Center. The adjoining
plaza area 45th Street from Emile Street to Dewey Avenue and Dewey Avenue
from 45th Street to 44th Street — also was named the Durham Research Plaza.
The amount of the gift is not being made public at Durhams request.
UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., served as emcee of the ceremony,
which included remarks by several university, business and governmental
leaders.
The $77 million building, which is expected to open next fall along
45th Street, is being funded entirely by private donations. The 10-level,
289,000 gross-square-foot building will enable UNMC to enhance its research
in a number of areas including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurosciences,
transplantation biology, genetics and eye research.
Today is an extraordinary day for UNMC, Dr. Maurer said. These individuals
and organizations have made an exceptional investment in the medical center
and in our future. Their passion and generosity are responsible for the
building that is rising above us and around us. They believe as we do,
that this state-of-the-art research facility and the research it will house
will further fuel our quest to be world class, enable us to make more headway
in diagnosing and treating and hopefully preventing many of the diseases
that still plague Nebraska and the nation today, and offer a new and exciting
educational environment for our students as they learn to be tomorrows
health professionals and scientists.
Principal donors of the Durham Research Center are: Durham Foundation;
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.
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.
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 and the adjacent five-level parking garage
which connects to the building was named the Durham Outpatient Center Parking.
UNMC leaders today also announced that different floors and areas of
the Durham Research Center would be named in honor of the primary donors.
The named floors/areas include the Peter Kiewit Foundation Transplant Biology
Research Laboratories, Scott Education Center (Suzanne and Walter Scott
Jr.), the Scott Neuroscience Research Laboratories (Ruth and Bill Scott),
Cardiovascular Research Laboratories, Truhlsen Eye Research Laboratories,
Yanney Seminar Center, and the Criss Foundation Seminar Center.