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New Health Science Education Center to Open on UNMC Campus
The public is invited to attend an open house for the University of Nebraska Medical Center's newest gem, the Michael F. Sorrell Health Science Education Center. The open house will be held on Sunday, June 29, from 1-3 p.m. The Sorrell Center is located at the northeast corner of 42nd and Emile Streets.
Parking is available in the multi-level parking structure located on the southeast corner of 42nd and Emile Streets. Enter the Sorrell center from the Emile Street side and meet at the campus events center to begin self-guided tours of the building.
A formal dedication ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 26 at 10 a.m. You are invited to view a live web cast of the ceremony by visiting UNMC's web site: www.unmc.edu, and clicking on the web cast link.
Located at the northeast corner of 42nd and Emile Streets, the Sorrell Center is the new home for the College of Medicine and, with its use of state-of-the-art technology, will transform the way students learn the science and practice of health care. The $52.7 million, nearly 135,000 square foot building will feature: technologically enhanced classrooms; patient-focused clinical skills laboratories; two 220 seat amphitheaters; and student interaction space that will provide enhanced interdisciplinary educational opportunities. It will also feature a much awaited campus events center.
Tours of the building will showcase how technology is enhancing the educational experience. For example, the clinical skills laboratories will use patient simulation mannequins that can mimic a variety of health conditions and diseases and provide students the opportunities to hone their clinical skills. Traditional microscopes have been replaced by computers that allow students to zoom in to examine the minute characteristics of the bacteria, tissues and other substances being studied. Lecture halls are equipped with audio and video instructional support that enables the faculty member to provide multiple views of a topic or use a variety of media in a presentation.
The building was funded through private dollars, with the largest donation coming from Omahans Ruth and Bill Scott. Other principal benefactors are: The Nebraska Medical Center, Richard D. Holland, Dorothy and Stanley M. Truhlsen, M.D., The Lozier Foundation, UNMC Physicians, Dr. C.C. & Mabel L. Criss Memorial Foundation, College of Medicine Alumni Association and Karen & Jim Linder, M.D.
The building is named for Michael F. Sorrell, M.D., a legendary physician and administrator at UNMC for the past 37 years.
The Sorrell Center will be the first building on campus to be certified by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Similar to the Durham Research Center, the cast-in-place concrete building will feature limestone, brick and glass curtain wall. The building will connect via a skywalk over 42nd Street to the fourth-floor of Wittson Hall.