University Park, Pa. -- Penn State’s Board of Trustees Friday (May 14) approved the construction of a $29.1 million, LEED-certified addition to the Moore Building on the University Park campus. The addition to the building, on Fischer Road east of the Nittany Lion Inn parking deck, is scheduled for completion in January 2012.
Al Horvath, senior vice president for finance and business at Penn State, said the four-story addition will provide more space for research labs for the Department of Psychology in the College of the Liberal Arts. Penn State’s Child Study Center, currently located on University Drive, will relocate to this addition to unite the department in one facility.
“Today, the Department of Psychology is dispersed across several facilities and does not have enough space to accomplish its work,” Horvath said. “This project enables the department to co-locate programs, significantly upgrade the quality of space, and allow for expansion of its programs.”
The construction of the Moore Building addition represents the first phase of a two-phase project. Phase one, which will involve the construction of the addition and the renovation of a small portion of the existing building, will result in 73,000 square feet of new space.
The second phase will entail the renovation of the remaining 76,000 square feet of the original building, which was constructed in 1973 and requires substantial upgrades to meet the current and future needs of the department and its students. Horvath said he expects to present the Board of Trustees with final plans for the second phase of the project as the completion of the first phase nears.
Currently, about 900 students are pursuing bachelor of arts or science degrees in psychology, and about 550 are pursuing minors in psychology. Penn State ranks in the top five public universities in the United States in externally funded research in psychology.