Eastern breaks ground on its new science center

The long wait is over for those pursuing study in science and technology at Eastern Washington University as the school broke ground on its long-awaited Interdisciplinary Science Center (ISC) July 23.

Eastern Washington University President Mary Cullinan was joined by state lawmakers and local dignitaries as they turned the first dirt and discussed the significance of this historic project. Construction of the hi-tech science laboratory facility comes after the state Legislature included the $67 million project in its most recent capital budget (2017-19).

"This is a momentous day for Eastern, as a new science building has been at the top of our capital project wish list for many years," Cullinan said in a news release. "I would again like to express my extreme gratefulness to lawmakers for this significant appropriation, as well as the many stakeholders on campus and in our local communities who diligently worked to make this day possible."

Cullinan said the current science building is no longer adequate to serve the growing needs of students, faculty and staff as the 48-year-old structure presents challenges with space for research and teaching.

The project calls for a state-of-the-art building that will meet the modern day needs of growing STEM programs such as biology, chemistry/biochemistry, geology and physics. The new facility will be connected by enclosed walkways to the existing science building, which the university hopes to renovate eventually for research labs, classrooms and extra space.

"This new science facility will be a game-changer for EWU's growing STEM-related programs," David Bowman, dean of EWU's College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CSTEM) said. "The modern laboratories in the new building will help our faculty maintain a curriculum at the cutting edge of science and permit student-faculty research that will continue to transform our region."

With construction starting this July, completion of the ISC is expected to occur by the end of May 2020.

Lydig Construction, Inc., of Spokane has been awarded the contract to build the ISC. In addition to working with Eastern to build the University Recreation Center, Lydig has recently completed projects of similar scale and complexity. Those projects include a science building at Central Washington University, a veterinary research building at Washington State University and multiple other higher education academic facilities around the state.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.