The new facility will house teaching and laboratory space for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Texas Tech University broke ground today (Dec. 15) on the new Academic Sciences Building, which will house teaching and laboratory space for five departments within the College of Arts & Sciences: the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry & Biochemistry, Geosciences, Physics & Astronomy and Psychological Sciences. The three-story, 125,000-square-foot structure will be located within the historic academic core of campus, adjacent to the current Chemistry and Science buildings.
“The Academic Sciences Building will be an invaluable asset to students and faculty, providing state-of-the-art classrooms, teaching laboratories and faculty space,” Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec said. “Located in the STEM epicenter of campus, this facility will provide for enhanced student experiences and cutting-edge research developments.”
Budgeted at $100 million, the Academic Sciences Building will be partially funded by a $12.5 million appropriation approved by the Texas Legislature during the 87th Legislative Session, as well as Higher Education Funding.
“The facilities in the Academic Sciences Building will enable faculty from the Department of Psychological Sciences to conduct groundbreaking research that simply would not be feasible otherwise,” said Keith Jones, interim chair of the Department of Psychological Sciences.
The building will contain hands-on active learning classrooms, student collaboration spaces, first-class teaching and computer laboratories, faculty offices and research facilities, which will help address the issue of outdated teaching laboratories and fulfill unmet research space needs.
“The student-teaching laboratories, active learning classrooms and computer labs, collaboration spaces and research labs will provide opportunities for our students and faculty to learn and grow their research in ways that haven't yet been possible,” said Ronald Hendrick, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “We have the world-class researchers and students; now we will have a physical facility to match those intellectual resources.”
“The Academic Sciences Building will not only be a space where we can educate the next generation of scientists in the best environment, but also an incredible cutting-edge space for us to conduct internationally competitive research,” said Physics & Astronomy Department Chair Sung-Won Lee, who also is a member of the building's design committee. “The Academic Sciences Building stands as an important step toward our commitment to education and research in science.”
Consistent with the Spanish Renaissance aesthetic that characterizes most of Texas Tech's campus, building materials will include Mission Blend brick, cast stone details and terracotta tiled roofing. Planned external features include a pedestrian walkway and a courtyard to the east of the building. Construction is expected to continue through Dec. 2023.
