NAU-Yuma expanding

Northern Arizona University is expanding its physical presence in Yuma to provide more academic opportunities to its students through a new equipped facility.

Construction for a new NAU research and teaching laboratory building is set to begin in the middle of February, said Rich Bowen, NAU associate vice president for economic development.

The construction of the building is one more step in expanding the NAU-Yuma campus into a fully functioning branch campus of NAU, said John Haeger, NAU president.

"It will provide for a location for NAU to expand its research into the Yuma area," Bowen said.

In addition, the building will help build upon the existing partnership with Arizona Western College and accommodate for more four-year programs, such as nursing and engineering, Haeger said.

The additional space is needed if the university is to provide more academic offerings to its students, Haeger said.

Krista Rodin, associate vice president and campus executive director of NAU-Yuma, said "we're all very, very pleased that we're able to move ahead with some of these new initiatives to better serve the community."

A 12,500 square-foot two-story building will be constructed adjacent to the new laboratory building at AWC.

The same architect who designed the AWC building will also be designing the university's new facility, Bowen said.

"The exterior will look identical," Bowen said.

Having a similar building to AWC will not only make the campus uniform, it will also be more cost-efficient to have similar upkeep requirements since NAU contracts with the college to do maintenance, Bowen said.

The building will house one large classroom and four large labs that if needed can be subdivided into smaller labs by putting up removable walls.

It will take approximately 8 months to complete the $6.5 million project.

The goal was to try to have the building ready to open for the fall semester but it's "going to be very tight," Bowen said. He anticipates the building to be ready in October.

"We have a very strong partnership at AWC and it continues to grow. NAU has made a commitment, the president has made a commitment to continue to grow in the Yuma area," Bowen said.

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Juana M. Gyek can be reached at jgyek@yumasun.com or 539-6872.