The University of Tampa plans to build a six-story academic building in the heart of its campus.
The facility will house the nursing program, a physician assistant program under development, the university's Office of Graduate Studies, classrooms, health sciences labs, study spaces and faculty offices.
The 90,000-square-foot Graduate and Health Studies Building will be the largest academic facility on the Tampa, Fla., campus.
It will be constructed on what is now an intramural field just east of Pepin Stadium. The building will blend with the architecture of the campus, with red brick, precast concrete, metal and glass.
“With this facility we hope to strengthen UT’s health sciences programs with state-of-the-art spaces, including simulation labs, a digital anatomy lab and all the latest health technology and equipment,” UT President Ron Vaughn says.
The building will also have a modern audiovisual system, the same as used in health care facilities, that is designed to capture clinical and learning events for future review and assessment by students. This will help to facilitate a unique connectivity to other health care facilities.
The building is expected to be completed in Fall 2018.
Plans call for a second phase of the Graduate and Health Studies Building, which includes a twin, 90,000-square-foot academic building, but a timetable has not yet been established. The two buildings are to be joined by a three-story sky bridge, and the second building will house the many academic programs related to technology.
Funding for construction of the Graduate and Health Studies Building will come from a combination of individual gifts and university funds.
The architects are Beck Architecture and KWJ Architects.