Saint Vincent College officials broke ground today on construction of the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion, a 102,000 square foot educational facility that will provide new or renovated classrooms, laboratories and offices for the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing. The new facility is part of an approximately $40 million initiative that also includes funding for new endowment and instrumentation. Over $27 million has been raised in this effort, and the first phase of construction and renovation, expected to be completed by August 2010, is fully-funded.

“We are proud that Saint Vincent College is able to begin construction on this state-of-the-art complex. It is the largest and most ambitious project in the College’s history,” President Jim Towey said. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors we can go forward at a time when other colleges and universities are pulling back. These new facilities will help us continue to attract the best and brightest students from the region and maintain the high standards and tradition of the Boyer School.”

The initial phase of the science center project consists of nearly 45,000 square foot of new construction that replaces the former amphitheatre and commons building with an ultramodern educational center featuring laboratories, classroom and support facilities. A three-story all-glass atrium will serve as a window to the natural world and a welcoming gateway into the building, reflecting the Benedictine tradition of hospitality.

Special features include an 80-seat lecture hall with a 3-D digital projector, a planetarium and a digital imaging laboratory. A geothermal heating and cooling system will provide efficient and environmentally comfortable interior space that will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification for its green building design.

General architect for the project is MacLachlan, Cornelius and Filoni of Pittsburgh. The laboratories were designed by Research Facilities Design Laboratory Consultants of San Diego. A general contractor has not been named.

The Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion is named in recognition of a $7.6 million gift from the family and friends of Sis and Herman. Mr. Dupré is a graduate of the Class of 1953 and is renowned for his patents in artificial snow-making and legendary ownership of Seven Springs Mountain Resort. The Richard King Mellon Foundation made a $7 million grant for this project which was the largest foundation grant in College history. Other major donors to the science center project include the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, Edward B. Dunlap Family, the CentiMark Foundation and the Benedictine Society.

The latter phase of construction will involve the expansion and renovation of more than 57,000 square feet in the existing chemistry, biology and physics buildings, and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011.

In May 2007 Saint Vincent named its School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing after Herb Boyer, a 1958 graduate who became the co-founder of Genentech, Incorporated, considered the world’s pioneer in the biotechnology industry. The Boyer School offers undergraduate programs in biochemistry, bioinformatics, biology, biotechnology, chemistry, computing and information science, environmental chemistry, environmental science, mathematics, mathematics/engineering (3/2), and physics. A Master of Science degree in Health Science for Nurse Anesthetists is offered in collaboration with Excela Health.

Further information about the Sis and Herman Dupré Science Center project can be obtained by contacting the Office of Institutional Advancement, 800-782-2150 or 724-805-2895.

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