Sharper edge for university, city of Scranton
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share thisGroundbreaking for the University of Scranton's new science center is a signature event not only for the institution, but for the future of Scranton and Northeast Pennsylvania.
The $70 million, 200,000-square-foot building is crucial to the university's ongoing commitment to cutting-edge science education. And that, in turn, is crucial to this region's prospects for development of a knowledge-based economy.
In design and concept, the building is part of trends in top-end science education at institutions across the country. It will integrate multiple science disciplines under a single roof, and foster interdisciplinary approaches to research problems.
That is the same approach, for example, that Penn State University - one of the nation's leading research universities - is taking with construction of its Millennium Science Center. That $215 million, 275,000-square-foot building will integrate under a single roof research in chemistry, biology, neuroengineering and materials science now spread over 40 different locations at University Park.
The new science center at the U of S will house the biology, chemistry, computer sciences, physics, electrical engineering and mathematics departments.
Reflecting its cutting-edge mission, the building will be built to meet "green" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.
For the city and the region, the project meshes beautifully with efforts - most obviously the impending opening of the Commonwealth Medical College - to foster science-based education and entrepreneurship as foundations of the future economy. It is a principal means to combat the "brain drain" - emigration of well-educated young people - that continues to plague the region.
The project is proof-positive of the U of S's value to the region and, especially, to Scranton, and just the latest example of how local colleges have been contributing to the cause of reshaping the region's economy.
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