Carver Trust gives $10 million for medical research facility

An architectural rendering of the Roy J. and Lucille Carver Biomedical Research Building. Construction is slated to begin in summer 2002.

In recognition of the generous gift, a new College of Medicine building currently in the planning stages will be named the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver Biomedical Research Building. The Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved the schematic design for the newly named structure earlier this year. Construction on the $40 million facility will begin in the summer of 2002 and will be completed in 2005.

“We believe that this project embodies the longstanding interest held by the Board of Trustees in providing first-rate research environments for both new scientists and established faculty at the College of Medicine,” said Troy K. Ross, executive administrator of the Carver Trust. “This sizeable gift accurately reflects the trust’s commitment to enhancing educational opportunities and seeking to improve the lives of all Iowans through support for biomedical research.”

The new building will be the second of three new facilities planned for the health sciences campus. Construction is nearing completion on the first building, the Medical Education and Biomedical Research Facility (to be designated MBRF), the first new academic building for the College of Medicine in more than 15 years. The MBRF will house the Roy J. Carver Molecular Science Research Center, funded by a $3 million Carver Trust grant in 1998.

The Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver Biomedical Research Building will be a linear extension of the northeast wing of MBRF, constructed on the site of the current east wing of the Steindler Building, which is scheduled for demolition sometime in 2002. The design of the Carver Biomedical Research Building will continue the thematic use of limestone, copper, and glass established in the first building.

The building will have seven levels, including five above ground, and approximately 130,000 square feet of space. A major portion of the building will be devoted to biomedical research laboratories, creating 40 new modules with associated specialized lab support rooms on four floors. College of Medicine administrative offices and additional educational conference rooms will be located on the first level.

Article by Steve Parrott