UI Pharmacy's New Facility Fosters Collaboration and Community

Rendering by OPN Architects. Construction of the new UI College of Pharmacy building began in fall 2016. The state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to open to students in early 2020.

Collaboration and community are central components evident in the modern design of the UI College of Pharmacy's 210,000-square-foot facility that's scheduled to open to students in early 2020.

Twenty-three learning spaces provide students and faculty more area to problem solve in a location that nearly doubles the size of the college's current building. A 128-seat, team-based learning center allows students to easily reposition in swivel desks for group work; an active learning center can transform from two 60-seat classrooms to a 300-seat seminar space by raising its hangar doors; and 16 collaborative laboratory science research 'hybrid' spaces can be easily customized with sliding walls to accommodate larger groups.

This commitment to collaboration and community is also present in the building's universal design, which aims to serve all people by promoting an inclusive environment. Built-in hearing loops broadcast directly to a person's hearing device, and color-coded floors and thoughtfully placed signage with symbols ease navigation throughout the facility.

Rendering by OPN Architects. The building's first-floor concourse will provide a gathering place for students, faculty, alumni, and friends. It will be named Alumni Hall if the minimum goal of $1 million is raised.

The college hopes these values can unite in the building's first floor central concourse that will be funded by private support and named Alumni Hall if the minimum goal of $1 million is raised. This distinguished space would be dedicated to past, present, and future students of UI pharmacy, and would offer a gathering place for students, faculty, alumni, and friends. The hall would be used daily by members of the pharmacy family and provide a prominent location for receptions, presentations, and other events. Additionally, Alumni Hall would serve as a visible reminder of the efforts and contributions from many that invested in the College of Pharmacy—ensuring its tradition in excellence and innovation continues in its new, state-of-the-art facility.

"We're a college family and that extends to a sense of collective worth," says Donald Letendre, dean of the UI College of Pharmacy. "When our alumni return to campus, I want them to feel like this is their home. This is a home that embraces every generation of pharmacists who have ever graced our halls." Once the College of Pharmacy raises at least $1 million in support to formally name Alumni Hall, it will recognize donors who give $1,000 or more toward the initiative. These contributor names would be permanently listed in the finished space.

"It's a wonderful way to pay tribute to our esteemed alumni, to recognize their investment in the college, and for individuals visiting the college to visibly see their name up on a wall," says Letendre. The dean envisions a campaign built on the collective efforts and supportive nature of the UI Pharmacy family—1,000 or more alumni each committing at least $1,000 each—as an effective and fitting means of bringing the hall to fruition. This goal is made even more achievable through a pledge, which can be paid in installments over multiple years.

As the UI College of Pharmacy nears the opening of its transformational facility, the Alumni Hall fundraising effort presents a unique opportunity for contributors.

Rendering by OPN Architects. A 128-seat, team-based learning center with three 220-inch projection screens promotes collaboration within teams.

"This is a chance for our alumni to leave an indelible mark in a space that will grow the college's tradition of excellence as one of the nation's elite pharmacy schools," says Letendre. "Reaching our goal through commitments from the Iowa Pharmacy family will speak to the nature of collaboration and community that are integral to our mission."

To support the College of Pharmacy's Alumni Hall campaign, visit givetoiowa.org/pharmacy and select the Building Fund.