U. hoping for new lab space

A new life sciences building would house the Biology and Psychology departments. University administrators are planning to breathe new life into Penn's natural science departments and programs with the construction of a $90 million life sciences building, to be located at 38th Street and University Avenue alongside Hamilton Walk. Although the project is still in its preliminary stages and has yet to be submitted to the University Trustees for approval, the proposed 95,000-square-foot facility would provide new homes for the Psychology and Biology departments. It will create new and vastly improved wet and dry research laboratories and increase classroom and office space to accommodate faculty enlargement in both departments. The life sciences building will also house interdisciplinary programs in fields such as genomics and cognitive neuroscience, which draw upon faculty from the Biology and Psychology departments, as well as from the Medical School and Veterinary School. "There is a huge evolution -- if not revolution -- going on in the life sciences," University President Judith Rodin said. "We need the type of facilities that will allow us to push the frontiers, and right now we don't have the facilities to do it." The building is currently being designed by Boston-based architect Ellen Zweig, who also did the feasibility studies when administrators began developing the project. There is no timetable for the project, but preliminary plans call for the building to be constructed in two phases. According to Provost Robert Barchi, the first phase -- which should take about 18 months to complete -- will provide approximately 55,000 square feet of space for Biology Department laboratories and animal research labs for the Psychology Department. The Biology Department's current lab facilities in the Kaplan Wing of the Leidy Laboratories and the Mudd Biology Research Laboratory would then be demolished to make room for the second construction phase, an adjacent building housing primarily Psychology Department laboratories and offices, Barchi added. As part of the plan, the Goddard Laboratories building would also be vacated, although that building would remain in use for administrative purposes. According to administrators, the new life sciences building would help enliven the back end of campus along Hamilton Walk, serving as the focal point of a "Life Sciences Quadrangle" that would encompass Medical School and Veterinary School buildings and the Bio Pond. And construction of the new building would free up much-needed expansion space near Locust Walk for the Graduate School of Education and the School of Social Work, both of which currently do more than 40 percent of their research in rented facilities. Administrators plan for those schools to use the Psychology Laboratories Building on 3720 Walnut Street once the Psychology Department moves into the life sciences facility. Still, the project remains focused on vastly improving laboratory space for the Biology and Psychology departments. "In terms of facilities, it is our No. 1 priority," School of Arts and Sciences Dean Samuel Preston said. Penn faculty and administrators have long complained that current research laboratories for the natural sciences are too small, too old and downright depressing. "They are really outdated facilities and that has really hurt us in our ability to attract and retain the best faculty," Psychology Department Chairman Robert Seyfarth said. "It is a problem when your facilities are not on par with those institutions you are competing with," Preston added. Many of Penn's peer institutions have announced that they will make major investments in their sciences programs. Most notably, Yale University recently announced it would spend $500 million to overhaul its natural sciences program. But like all University construction projects, the challenge remains in finding funding for them -- although administrators have been pitching the project for a number of years. "A lot of people want to give money to people -- not bricks and mortar," SAS Vice Dean of External Affairs Jean-Marie Kneeley said. And Rodin said that the absence of formal plans has made it difficult to fundraise. Still, Preston and Rodin have met with a number of potential donors -- including many from the biotechnology sector -- and have already secured a number of private donations. According to Preston, they have already received pledges for almost $3 million in dedicated stock and a total of $4 million from individual Trustee donors. "At this point, we feel the funding is identified," Preston said. "There is an understanding that if we raise our target of $15 million to fund [Phase I construction], we can sustain debt service on the rest of the building."

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