It will contain a 200-seat auditorium, a 200-seat lecture hall,six labs for as many different state-of-the-art, technology-drivenclinical simulations in which patient-actors follow scriptedscenarios to mimic real patient situations. There will also be asimulated nurse's station, observation and testing labs,classrooms, offices, a dean's suite and spaces for research, prayerand reflection. A courtyard will front the building, which is beingconstructed to meet LEED certification.

The estimated construction cost is $32 million, a spokeswomanfor the College of Nursing tells GlobeSt.com. While the universityis footing the bill, fund raising is under way for buildingenhancements, she says, which include installation of the collegeseal in the lobby, artwork and furnishings for certain spaces,including a room for the 54-year-old school's historicalcollection. Naming rights are available for the building and someof its public spaces.

The College of Nursing will relocate from St. Mary's Hall on thecampus perimeter into the new building, which is expected to reachcompletion by the start of the academic year in fall 2008. In astatement, Peter Donohue, president of the university, says the newfacility will "bring people together into an academicallyintellectual center."