The Science Center, set to open in Spring 2029, will be located on the Hillsborough River (Photo Courtesy of The University of Tampa).
The building, set to open in Spring 2029, will include 25 teaching laboratories, 23 research laboratories, 73 faculty offices as well as more STEM resources, according to a press release from the University of Tampa.
–
By Hayden Randolph
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa recently announced the Science Center, a building to promote scientific research on campus.
The 153,000 square-foot building will include 25 teaching laboratories, 23 research laboratories, 73 faculty offices, three microscopy rooms, four aquarium research laboratories, and more STEM resources, according to a press release from UTampa.
The Science Center will include several laboratories for faculty and students. (Photo courtesy of The University of Tampa).
“The building was benchmarked against some of the best STEM facilities in the country,” said Paul Greenwood, dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences. “The architectural firm and the many faculty working with them have done a remarkable job making the building uniquely suited to the needs and personality of The University of Tampa.”
The Science Center will include a Riverside Garden, Entrance Plaza, and Northeast Quadrangle, according to a press release from UTampa. These outdoor spaces will be available for use to students.
“The part of the building that faces the river is almost all for students, including all the teaching labs and all the student gathering spaces,” said Greenwood. “Besides popping over to the Grand Center for a bite to eat or a cup of coffee, it will be possible for some students to spend their entire day in the Science Center.”
The construction of the Science Center is being partly supported by the Dickey family who previously were honored in the title of Dickey’s Health and Wellness Center, according to a press release from UTampa.
The Science Center was announced less than two years after the Grand Center opened in August 2024. The Grand Center offers student housing, faculty offices, and a parking garage.
“Our current situation has so many parts of both departments in different buildings, that the ‘accidental intellectual collusions’ that can rapidly advance STEM fields don’t happen,” said Greenwood. “Having all these sciences in one building will foster intellectual interactions across disciplines.”
Greenwood said the work being done by faculty and students displayed the need for the Science Center.
“While some of our newest renovations and the Science Research Laboratories on Kennedy Boulevard are excellent,” said Greenwood, “a tour of most of the science spaces on campus reveals that the excellent work being done by faculty and students calls for more exceptional facilities and equipment.”
The Science Center includes several faculty offices (Photo courtesy of The University of Tampa).
Lilliana Giddens, junior marine biology and environmental studies student at UTampa, said a native plant garden should be included in the Science Center’s landscaping.
“I’m a part of UTampa Plant Club. I’m really talking with professors and faculty to get this on the ground,” said Giddens. “We’re also talking with an organization called Little Red Wagon to help sponsor this native plant garden on campus.”
Avery Saper, freshman pre-nursing major, said the Science Center is needed.
“Last semester, I took microbiology, but we could not have a lab,” Saper said. “Our professor would always talk about how we should have a lab, but there was no space.”
The Science Center is set to open in Spring 2029. Greenwood said the Science Center makes UTampa more attractive to prospective students.
“Now, more science students, and likely students in general, will want to come here to be a part of this exciting university commitment to the students,” said Greenwood.