Property committee approves $13.75 million WISER expansion at Scaife Hall
December 05, 2024 | University of Pittsburgh, Other State Agencies, Organizations, Executive, Pennsylvania
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The University of Pittsburgh Property and Facilities Committee voted to approve phases 2 and 3 of an expansion for the Winter Institute for Simulation and Evaluation Research (WISER) in Allan McGie Scaife Hall on a motion passed by the committee.
The expansion, described by committee staff as a $13,750,000 project, will extend WISER into the east side of Scaife Hall’s third floor to add simulation training and office space. Approval of the project falls within the committee’s authority under the property and facilities committee charter, the committee was told.
Committee Chair Jeff Marcek called for the motion after Dwayne Finckney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, introduced the item. Finckney said the schools of the health sciences and WISER “have been consolidating their facilities into Allan McGie Scaife Hall, where the facility would be more readily available to students at the schools of medicine and nursing as well as practicing professionals in adjacent UPMC facilities.”
Dean Schaecker of the School of Medicine, participating by Zoom and cited by committee staff, described the institute’s training volume and funding model: “We train roughly 12,000 learners every year and have over 3,000 courses in this facility,” and the School of Medicine funds its space largely through research overhead, the dean said. Committee materials state the project will be funded by school of medicine division debt repaid by the school of medicine division operating budget.
Committee members asked a few procedural and funding questions before approving the resolution; after the aye votes and absence of opposition or abstentions, the chair announced the resolution was approved.
The committee did not set a construction start date in the meeting discussion, and no additional approvals or outside agency consents were described in the record provided to the committee.
The expansion, described by committee staff as a $13,750,000 project, will extend WISER into the east side of Scaife Hall’s third floor to add simulation training and office space. Approval of the project falls within the committee’s authority under the property and facilities committee charter, the committee was told.
Committee Chair Jeff Marcek called for the motion after Dwayne Finckney, executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer, introduced the item. Finckney said the schools of the health sciences and WISER “have been consolidating their facilities into Allan McGie Scaife Hall, where the facility would be more readily available to students at the schools of medicine and nursing as well as practicing professionals in adjacent UPMC facilities.”
Dean Schaecker of the School of Medicine, participating by Zoom and cited by committee staff, described the institute’s training volume and funding model: “We train roughly 12,000 learners every year and have over 3,000 courses in this facility,” and the School of Medicine funds its space largely through research overhead, the dean said. Committee materials state the project will be funded by school of medicine division debt repaid by the school of medicine division operating budget.
Committee members asked a few procedural and funding questions before approving the resolution; after the aye votes and absence of opposition or abstentions, the chair announced the resolution was approved.
The committee did not set a construction start date in the meeting discussion, and no additional approvals or outside agency consents were described in the record provided to the committee.
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