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Gary Grindstaff, of A&H Steel, checks to make sure
the last structural beam of the new Life Sciences Center
is secure before it is lowered into place during MU’s
“topping off” ceremony. Photo by Chris Detrick,
The Maneater, Copyright 2003
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Topping
Off
A step forward for MU’s leadership
in the life sciences
The hoisting of the last structural beam
of the MU Life
Sciences Center on Feb. 24 added drama to a campus “topping
off” ceremony that celebrated the completion of the building’s
structural elements.
Located on the corner of Rollins Road and
College Avenue, the new Life Sciences Center will place MU among
the first universities in the nation to house faculty from multiple
areas for research, teaching and outreach related to health,
food and the environment.
The Center will be named for Sen.
Christopher “Kit” Bond, R-Mo., when he retires
from the Senate. Bond secured $33 million for the project and
recently announced an additional $1.35 million in funds for
the Center.
When the Center opens its doors to students
and researchers next year, laboratories and classrooms will
have the necessary tools for the center to fulfill its mission.
The Monsanto
Company and Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of Monsanto
Company, a leading global provider of agricultural products,
have donated $1.9 million to the Life Sciences Center. The gift
will be used to purchase scientific equipment to support the
Center's 40 research laboratories.
“Monsanto is a leading life-sciences
company,” said Tom Payne, vice chancellor and dean of
the College of Food, Agriculture
and Natural Resources. “In fact, they were the first
company to refer to themselves in those terms. This gift is
one more concrete example of their commitment to the state’s
life-sciences initiative. The company and the fund are wonderful
assets to our state.”
The center’s 250-seat auditorium and the auditorium lobby
will bear Monsanto’s name.
“As a vital hub for learning and research, the Life Sciences
Center stands as a testament to the University of Missouri-Columbia’s
position as one of the nation’s premier universities for
the study of life sciences,” said Deborah Patterson, president
of the Monsanto Fund. “Monsanto is honored and delighted
to be a contributor.”
The Life Sciences Center is a $60 million project funded by
federal and state sources. In addition to research laboratories
and the auditorium, the center has multipurpose equipment rooms
and five teaching/computer laboratories. The state-of-the-art
research/teaching facility is designed to foster interdisciplinary,
team research by faculty and students from six academic divisions.
Construction on the Center began December 17, 2001. Spring 2004
is the targeted date of completion.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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