Purdue trustees approve new Nursing and Pharmacy Education Building, series of repair and rehabilitation projects

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In acknowledging the country’s critical workforce needs for skilled nurses and pharmacists and to expand interprofessional education opportunities that mirror modern health care settings, the Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Aug. 4) gave approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contracts for a Nursing and Pharmacy Education Building on the West Lafayette campus.

The approximately 186,000-square-foot building for the School of Nursing and College of Pharmacy will be located at the corner of Mitch Daniels Boulevard and Russell Street. It will advance collaborative, innovative learning for health care professionals in Indiana. 

The facility will support significant enrollment growth that has occurred in both the nursing and pharmacy programs in recent years while being positioned to accommodate forecasted enrollment levels. The project supports the Purdue Moves Transformative Education 2.0  initiative and aligns with the 2018 Giant Leaps campus master plan, the College of Health and Human Sciences master plan and the College of Pharmacy master plan. 

Construction is scheduled to start in September 2024 and be completed in October 2026. The estimated cost of the project is $160 million, to be funded by capital cash appropriation from the state ($89 million), gift funds ($45 million) and operating funds – reserves ($26 million).

“We are grateful for the generous support from the Indiana General Assembly and many donors to help make this important facility a reality,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “Both nursing and pharmacy education, along with the overall life science and health capabilities at Purdue, will be substantially boosted.”

In other action, trustees gave approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contracts for a new, approximately 7,200-square-foot farm building at the Southeast Purdue Agricultural Center in Jennings County, Indiana. 

Additionally, trustees gave approval to plan, finance, construct and award construction contracts for the following repair and rehabilitation projects on the West Lafayette campus:

• Wetherill Laboratory of Chemistry lab drain and supply line replacement, the first of a planned four-phase lab drain line replacement. 
• Shreve Hall electrical enhancements and replacement, which will install two new transformers to replace existing transformers and replace main and secondary electrical distribution equipment. 
• University and Schleman halls strategic transformer replacement, which will replace the existing shared transformer and related equipment and install two new transformers, supporting equipment and wiring from the transformers to the buildings.
• Frances M. Shealy Residence Hall (within the Windsor Residence Hall Complex) roof replacement.
• A variety of structural repairs and maintenance to the Grant Street Parking Garage.

Trustees also authorized an increase in the construction cost for the Life Science Ranges Phenotyping Greenhouse Building that was approved in February 2022.

Additionally, trustees approved the leasing of Hangars 7 and 8 and the land they occupy at the Purdue University Airport to Purdue Aviation for a term of 40 years, beginning July 1, 2025, and the sale of 0.14 acres of land at 600 N. Russell St. in West Lafayette to Phi Gamma Delta to facilitate the fraternity’s plans for future growth. 

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top 4 in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.

Writer: Tom Schott

Sources: Jay Wasson

Rob Wynkoop