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MU Board of Curators Approves Capital Projects on All Campuses

The MU Board of Curators met on Friday and approved nearly two dozen major capital projects across the UM system. This is just the first of four phases these projects must go through before they are completed, and out of those projects, five were given priority.

The board unanimously voted to prioritize the Translational Precision Medicine Complex, which is estimated to cost $150 million. The complex will provide an interdisciplinary research lab for precision medicine.

Board of Curators Member John R. Phillips sees the proposed complex as a project that would make the UM System stand out.

“I think that the MU campus with the hospital and the medical school and the other health professions have a unique opportunity to move into precision medicine in a way that maybe no other public university has,” Phillips said.

The Sinclair School of Nursing also had a building expansion approved at the meeting – though it was not approved as a priority. That project is estimated to cost $20 million, and Dean Judith Miller says the expansion could address the problem of the nursing shortage in Missouri.

“Eighty-eight percent or so of our graduates stay in the state of Missouri,” Miller said. “As we plan for this new structure, we’re going to increase our enrollment by between 30 to 40 percent.”

In March, these projects are expected to move to the second phase of the overall process, which takes longer than it used to.

Back in September, after budget cuts were announced, curators approved the new capital planning process, which now allows for additional time to fundraise for projects and work with the Missouri legislature.