The Connect NC bond, passed in March, will give more than $1 billion to higher education institutions in the state. $68 million of this will be used by UNC to create a new building for the School of Medicine.
Dr. Julie Byerley, vice dean for education and chief education officer for the UNC School of Medicine, said they are hoping the new building will be built near the rest of the medical school.
“It’s going great. We are in the process of selecting an architect and have met with several,” she said. “We’ve gotten lots of really good ideas from students, faculty and staff. We have had a very active planning phase. We’re super excited.”
Byerley said it could be a while before UNC actually sees the new building, which will focus on spaces for students to collaborate with one another. Tentative plans for the building include breakout rooms — medium-sized rooms that can be broken into smaller ones, Byerley said.
“We’re building a building for at least the next 50 years, and the planning that’s done will be worth it,” she said. “While I’d love to break ground very soon and finish the building right away, I want to do it right.
“We need to do very thoughtful planning, envisioning what the future of medical education and the future of clinical practice look like.”
The next step is to do more detailed planning to get the best design possible, Byerley said.
The remainder of the $2 billion Connect NC bond invests in water and sewage projects, national guard armories, agricultural research, the state parks system and the zoo.
“North Carolina is a growing state,” Melanie Jennings, a spokesperson for the state Office of Budget and Management, said. “Since the last higher education bond in the year 2000, we’ve added two million people to our population. So, it’s really about investing in our future and helping meet the needs of our growing state.”
