BGSU Firelands opens new expansion

Celebrating the opening of the new lab spaces are (left to right), Matthew Carroll, junior at Huron High School and College Credit Plus student, Robert Bostwick, president, Bostwick Design Partners, William Balzer, vice president for faculty affairs and strategic initiatives and former BGSU Firelands dean, Mary Ellen Mazey, BGSU president, Daniel Keller, BGSU Board of Trustees, and Andrew Kurtz, dean of BGSU Firelands.  

Huron, O.—Bowling Green State University Firelands College threw open the doors of its new $12 million Allied Health and Sciences Project expansion with a ribbon cutting event Nov. 20.

The expansion is a 12,700 square foot, two-story addition to the current North Building, which will provide critically needed laboratory spaces in the natural and physical sciences. It will expand upper division course offerings that support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and act as a catalyst for new bachelor’s degree programs.

It represents the completion of Phase I of a project that began in 2010 when the BGSU trustees approved a 25-year campus master plan for the Huron-based campus. The master plan recognized the need for additional academic and student space.

The project will also include 35,000 square feet of renovations to the North and West buildings.  The renovations are essential for expanding health-related offerings for students and increasing the number of well-trained health care professionals in the community.

The vast majority of the renovations will be completed in Phase II of the project. Planning for Phase II has already begun and construction will be completed in the summer of 2017.

The newly remodeled LEED-certified facilities will accommodate high-demand degree programs in nursing and allied health careers including: radiologic technology, respiratory care, diagnostic medical sonography and health information technology, as well as supporting critical courses in the basic sciences.

“Over the last 10 years, BGSU Firelands has experienced a 209 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in health-related programs and has developed eight new programs within the health care curriculum,” said BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey. “These new facilities will position BGSU as an educational leader in one of the fastest growing and most popular occupational sectors.”

“The new expansion and the subsequent Phase II of the project represent a commitment on behalf of BGSU to meet the growing need for health care professionals in our community,” said Dr. Andrew Kurtz, dean of the college. “It also represents opportunity for countless community members who seek quality education in a career sector that is growing exponentially.”