University Times

Participating in this week’s groundbreaking for the Johnstown campus’s new Nursing and Health Sciences Building were, in hard hats from left: Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Management Joseph Fink, UPJ President Jem Spectar and state Sen. John Wozniak, who is a UPJ alumnus. They were joined by Pitt-Johnstown nursing students.

Pitt-Johnstown broke ground Aug. 27 for its new Nursing and Health Sciences Building.

In announcing the project, UPJ President Spectar said, “The new building enhances our capacity to provide first-class learning facilities, propels us toward greater distinction in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)fields and furthers our movement to the forefront of baccalaureate colleges.” More than 40 percent of Pitt-Johnstown’s students are enrolled in STEM majors.

The 26,000-square-foot facility, at a projected cost of $12 million, will include 11 laboratories for chemistry and biology, a nursing simulation laboratory, six faculty offices and two seminar/classrooms spread out over two floors.

Nearly 20 percent of all Pitt-Johnstown students are pursuing majors in the medical professions, including the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, which will graduate its first class in the spring.

The Nursing and Health Sciences Building will bring the total number of buildings on the 655-acre campus to 38.

The new building, which is expected to be complete next fall, was designed by MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni of Pittsburgh, and has a sustainable/green design that is expected to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, thereby becoming the first LEED-certified building on campus.

Architect’s rendering of the new building.