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Utah State University Receives Legislative Funding For Building Renovation

Utah State University

Two years ago, Utah State University received legislative funding to build a new Life Sciences building on the Logan main campus. As the building nears completion, focuses are shifting towards its neighbor-- the Biology and Natural Resources building, or BNR.

“As wonderful as that building will be,” said Maura Hagan, dean of the College of Science at USU, “there will be many faculty and students who will need to continue to use the BNR for lab classes, and for lectures etc, and for research.”

The Utah Legislature recently approved the $23 million needed to make the renovations to this building. Hagan said although the university has taken good care of the building, the renovations are needed to bring it up to date.

“It’s giving our students state-of-the-art experiences at the lab benches,” Hagan said, “so that when they go out and work in industry they have that kind of experience that they can bring with them. It’s also retrofitting the building to meet ADA code, to meet fire safety code, and the seismic retrofitting that will happen in addition to the HVAC system.”

Another way students will benefit from this building Hagan said is through research experiences with faculty.

“For us to attract and retain talented faculty,” Hagan said, “we have to offer state of the art facilities and equipment that allows them to do the work that they need to do for the success of their research program and for the success of the research experiences of our students.”

Renovation plans are still in the preliminary stages and there is not a projected start date.