Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Design Phase Approved for UK College of Medicine Construction

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/05/21

This week, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved the design phase for the construction of a new building for the UK College of Medicine. According to a press release, the facility will include about 380,000 square feet of classrooms, conference rooms, simulation suites, office space, and support space. A location for the building on campus has yet to be determined and will be announced in late summer or early fall.

“Physician demand is expected to exceed supply exponentially over the next 10 years,” said UK College of Medicine Dean Robert DiPaola. “And we know the most effective way to increase the number of physicians practicing statewide is to train them. In Kentucky, it is especially dire as the medical needs across the state are among the highest in the nation, particularly in rural areas.”

The university’s medical students currently take classes in either the William R. Willard Medical Education Building, the Charles T. Wethington Building, and the Clinical Skills Training and Assessment Center. During the 2020–21 academic year, the UK College of Medicine had an enrollment of 717 students. The number of applicants for a set number of spots (201) increased from 2,394 in 2019 to 3,792 in 2020.

“Increasing the number of practicing physicians is one of the many ways in which the UK College of Medicine is responding to increased health care demands throughout the Commonwealth,” said DiPaola. “Training physicians and other health care professionals to practice statewide in Kentucky is of major importance, and to do that effectively, the College of Medicine and other health care colleges at UK need the space available to grow the number of students to meet the needs of the Commonwealth.”

Once the design phase of the project is complete, it will go back to the Board of Trustees for approval, and then the bidding and construction phases will begin.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.