AUM celebrates opening of new Science & Technology Complex
Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) celebrated the opening of its new Science & Technology Complex with a ribbon cutting ceremony and guided tours of the 57,000-square-foot facility on Friday, Feb. 7.
The ribbon cutting event was attended by more than 100 faculty, community leaders, project officials, AUM administrators, and members of the Auburn University (AU) Board of Trustees. The Science & Technology Complex opened to the campus community the first day of spring classes in January.
“Our new Science & Technology Complex will reshape STEM education for current and future students and significantly enhance AUM’s teaching, research, and outreach capabilities in scientific disciplines,” said AUM Chancellor Carl A. Stockton.
“We look forward to using spaces in the Science & Technology Complex to support STEM professional development for K-12 educators and to also fostering research collaboration between AUM and Auburn University faculty. We now have a top-flight facility for teaching and research.”
Formerly the site of the Alabama Department of Public Health’s State Forensic Lab for over four decades, the new Science & Technology Complex features modern and adaptable classroom, laboratory, and collaborative spaces.
“It’s wonderful to see the vision for this complex come to reality, said Stephen Allen, president of Williams Blackstock Architects of Birmingham, during the ribbon cutting. Allen’s firm also served as the architect for AU’s HortonHardgrave Hall graduate business building and AU’s Mell Classroom Building.
“When designing a building of this age, there are a lot of unique spaces that we had to work with that ultimately ended up driving design decisions,” Allen said of AUM’s new Science & Technology Complex. “It’s almost a process of turning lemons into lemonade but we’re pleased with how this facility turned out.”
Immediately following the ribbon cutting ceremony, an open house was held for members of the community, trustees and faculty. Among the stops were new computer labs and classrooms, collaborative workspaces, and laboratories for organic chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and biochemistry and molecular biology. The tour also included stops in a large research laboratory, where faculty members and students are pursuing research opportunities ranging from cancer to biofuel.
The new complex will play a critical role in helping with the recruitment and retention of talented AUM undergraduate and graduate students who will ultimately help meet local, state and regional needs for doctors, researchers, and STEM educators, said AU Trustee At-Large Zeke Smith.
“Those efforts align with the shared vision of Auburn University and Auburn University at Montgomery to lead and shape the future of higher education,” he said.
The new complex also serves as a reminder of the progression of AUM’s campus over the years.
“When I graduated from Auburn University in 1968, Auburn University at Montgomery’s existence as a campus was still largely conceptual,” said James “Jimmy” Sanford, who serves as Vice President Pro Tempore of the AU Board of Trustees. “The opening of the new Science & Technology Complex represents a game-changer for students and faculty engaged in STEM-focused scholarship and research. More broadly, it builds momentum in strengthening AUM’s role as a leading talent developer and solutions provider for Alabama’s River Region.”
