At a May 16 ribbon-cutting ceremony, Board of Trustees members, university leadership and state lawmakers joined Eastern students and faculty to celebrate the completion of the first phase of the university’s $110 million dollar Science Building renovations.
“The completion of Phase 1 will now open the doors for our students to have greater involvement with faculty research and work side by side with practitioners in the field,” EWU President Shari McMahan told attendees.
“It’s not just about academic excellence, it’s providing a transformative educational experience that better prepares students to meet the needs of this region and spur innovation in the vital STEM fields. Again, thank you to all who have made this possible,” McMahan said.
McMahan also gave an individual shout out to David Bowman, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, who championed the project while doing double-duty as the interim dean of the College of Health, Science and Public Health. “He has done amazing things for Eastern and for the STEM fields,” McMahan said.
For his part, Bowman said the fully completed Science Building will create additional opportunities for scientists as well as real-world experiences for students in geosciences, chemistry, biochemistry, physical and the ecological and environmental sciences.
“With the completion of this phase of construction our students and faculty finally have a world-class facility to support the world-class work that they do for our region,” Bowman said.
Renovation of the 148,000-square-foot building, formerly known as the Hall of Sciences, began in early spring of 2022. The project was designed by Integrus Architecture, PS, and the first phase constructed by Leone and Keeble, Inc.
Completion of the project’s second phase, expected in 2026, will create a new home for Eastern’s biology faculty, as well as additional chemistry and geochemistry/environmental science labs. Work on Phase 2 will begin this summer.
Together with the Interdisciplinary Science Center — completed two years ago — the renovated Science Building will reshape EWU’s ability to produce graduates with the hands-on technical and scientific training crucial to ensuring the continued growth of our region’s economy, EWU administrators say.
As part of the ribbon-cutting event, student clubs competed to fill display cases that showcased previous and current Eastern research. Students also led tours of the completed portion of the building, which even includes several murals designed Hunter Zepp, who earned a bachelor’s in design in 2023.
One of the students excited about the grand opening was Ashley Grace Ogle, 22, of Spokane.
Ogle, who will graduate with a bachelor’s in biology in June, is preparing to stay at EWU to pursue a master’s degree. She is currently part of the research team exploring native plant germination as part of Eastern’s Prairie Restoration Project.
Ogle is looking forward to the next two years of utilizing what the renovated building has to offer her and her fellow investigators. “The aesthetics as well as the vibes are just way better here. It is less cramped, less dark and I feel like it’s just better overall.”
Hannah Stephens, an admissions representative, is excited by what the building offers for students.
“It’s really exciting to tell some of the [prospective] students who are interested in STEM that we have a really nice state-of -the art building,” Stephens said. “I’m excited to be able to have some of our student tour guides bring students in here and have them see it firsthand.”
