New Center for the Sciences Building Receives Continued Support with a $50,000 Donation

artist's rendering

Pictured above is an artist's rendering of the new Center for the Sciences.

The excitement of the new Center for the Sciences building continues to rise with alumna Nancy Artis and her husband, Pat, of Pagosa Springs, Colo., making a $50,000 gift to name a computing laboratory, the “Artis Computing Laboratory for Biological Sciences.” The lab is designed to accommodate up to 24 students, and will house desktop computers with specialized software for scientific and mathematical applications. Classes will be conducted in the lab when computer work is needed, but the facility will also be available as an open lab for students to meet and complete individual and group projects.

“Nancy and Pat Artis are dedicated to the advancement of education and to Radford University. Their generous gift will provide students with an innovative learning environment that will produce tomorrow’s leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” said Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle.

Construction on the Center for the Sciences is expected to begin in fall 2012 with a tentative completion date of fall 2014. In addition to teaching and research laboratories, the $49 million, 115,000 square foot building will include faculty and staff offices, a vivarium to offer climate-controlled zoology research opportunities and a new Museum of the Earth Sciences and the RU Planetarium. EYP, one of the nation’s top-performing green design firms, is in charge of the project.

“Funding a state of the art facility for students not only provides a place for the best education, but also inspires them to be on the cutting edges of creating solutions for Virginia’s future,” Nancy Artis said.

Nancy Artis is a graduate of Radford University and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1973. She currently serves as a member of the Radford University Board of Visitors and chairperson of the University Advancement and Alumni Relations Committee.

Nancy and Pat Artis added, “We believe that a gift to Radford University is one of the best ways to invest in the economic future of the Commonwealth. Radford primarily attracts students from Virginia and prepares them for careers in science, computer technology, education, nursing and a wide variety of other fields. Whether with a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, Radford graduates serve Virginia.”

The Artises also support RU through their endowed Nancy & H. Pat Artis Scholarship in Information Technology.

Jan 31, 2012
Melissa Vidmar
540-831-6715
mvidmar@radford.edu