GVSU to dedicate new P. Douglas Kindschi Hall of Science

The Grand Valley State University community will celebrate the dedication of the new P. Douglas Kindschi Hall of Science Friday, August 28, from 2-4 p.m. on the Allendale Campus.

The 151,720 square-foot, four story building includes nine classrooms, 15 teaching laboratories, 14 faculty/student research laboratories, a computational research lab, study spaces, offices and conference rooms. The large research laboratories are based on a concept of "shared functionality" adopted at Grand Valley. These research spaces feature instrumentation along the walls and flexible workbenches in the middle, which allows students and faculty to share space and instrumentation while collaborating on research.

Academic programs to be housed in the Kindschi Hall of Science include Biology and Cell and Molecular Biology. Offices for the Movement Science Department will also be located in the building along with the Vice Provost and Dean of Academic Services and Information Technology unit.

The Kindschi Hall of Science is located on Campus Drive on the Allendale Campus, next to the Fieldhouse, just south of the Recreation Center and across from the Padnos Hall of Science and Henry Hall. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in April 2013 and construction began three months later, creating 950 temporary construction jobs.

The $55-million, state-of-the-art facility received $30 million from the State of Michigan; the remaining $25 million came from a variety of university resources, plus donations.

More than 400 donors also contributed to The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Margin of Excellence for Science Endowment Fund, which provides materials, technology and research opportunities across the university for students to have hands-on experiences in and outside of the classroom.

The Marketplace is connected to the building, which houses the 45,000-square-foot, two-story GVSU Laker Store (formerly the University Bookstore), Starbucks and Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, a made-to-order sandwich shop.

The building was designed and constructed for LEED silver certification.