Important Updates on the Health Education Building from Acting Provost DiPaola

Faculty and Staff,

Please find below the message circulated by Acting Provost DiPaola announcing the new UK health education building that will include a number of our programs upon completion. I intend to hold a town-hall meeting of the college in the coming weeks to add context to this announcement and details regarding the specific implications this exciting development has on CHS. Our inclusion in this expansion of health care education on our campus is a testament to the excellence you contribute to every day, preparing the next generation of healthcare providers in your respective discipline.

Sincerely,

Scott

Colleagues,

Last May, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved the design phase for the construction of a new health education building that we believe will become the focal point of medical and health education in Kentucky and beyond.

As we continue moving forward with this project and await and anticipate further authorizations and approvals from the Kentucky General Assembly, we wanted to provide some important updates.

First, we are excited to announce that along with being the future site of world-class medical education facilities for the College of Medicine, the health education building will also house programs and services associated with the Colleges of Public Health, Health Sciences and Nursing. In our commitment as the University of Kentucky for Kentucky, and with our vision for a healthier Commonwealth, it is vital that we continue to expand and enhance programs for learners across the health care continuum in a transdisciplinary way to continue to grow a high-quality health care workforce for Kentucky.

As part of continued planning for next steps, we also have announced that Matthew Sanger, the College of Medicine’s executive director and chief of staff, will serve as the overall project leader, in partnership with Keith Ingram, project manager with Capital Projects in Facilities Management. In addition, the following will serve as point of contact for their respective college and as members of the building executive committee, along with the deans of each college:

• Ann Emmerson, College of Medicine, ann.emmerson@uky.edu
• Paula Arnett, College of Public Health, paula.arnett@uky.edu
• Denise McCarthy, College of Health Sciences, denise.mccarthy@uky.edu
• Karen Minton, College of Nursing, karen.minton@uky.edu

In addition, to continue the progress of this exciting venture, the architects and designers for the project have been selected.

JRA Architects and HOK will help establish the health education building as a cutting-edge facility with state-of-the-art technology and modern design, enhancing the educational experience for the next generation of health care leaders in Kentucky.

• JRA Architects is a Lexington-based firm with over 75 years of experience. The firm has maintained strong partnerships with more than 70 health care and higher education institutions in the Commonwealth, helping lead more than 460 higher education projects and 1,225 medical projects across Kentucky. JRA Architects is familiar with UK’s branding and vision, having led the development of buildings on UK’s campus such as Jacobs Science Building and the Davis Marksbury Building, as well as health care facility design projects for the Kentucky Neurological Institute, Markey Cancer Center, and the Kentucky Clinic.
• HOK has used its planning and design expertise – including architecture, interiors, health care consulting, lab planning and design, medical education planning, space management, and engineering – to help create and enhance academic medical environments for more than 65 years. In the past decade, these projects have included 24 medical and health sciences education facilities in North America. HOK will bring on NV5 to provide expertise in audio-visual simulation technology. The collaboration recently led design on the University of Buffalo’s new Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, as well as the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, a 394,000 square-foot, 13-story community in downtown Tampa.

We are pleased to have these distinguished and nationally recognized experts in architecture, design and planning on board. In the coming weeks, we hope to have more announcements and details available to share about this significant academic facility addition to our UK campus.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.

Acting Provost