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The Health Science Center is implementing its long-term master facilities plan. The first phase of the campus expansion included opening the 112,000-square-foot Medical Education and Training building. This state-of-the-art, LEED Gold education facility supports the expansion and enhancement of our academic programs and the continuing growth of our student, faculty and staff community.
The Medical Education and Training building includes a 500-seat auditorium that can be divided into two 250-seat auditoriums. There are multiple display options in the auditorium allowing for great views anywhere in the room. The highly sophisticated auditoriums include HD cameras for teleconferencing, a performance hall-rated speaker system, programmable lighting, in-audience microphones, data/electrical to all 500 seats and wireless throughout.
Also included in the Medical Education and Training building is a small café, multifunctional classrooms/meeting rooms, lounge/public spaces, simulation labs, clinical teaching exam rooms, small group rooms, Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) Physical Training Lab, Physical Therapy (PT) Instructional Labs and faculty and staff offices for OMM, PT and the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM).
The Medical Education and Training building was awarded LEED Gold status by the U.S. Green Building Council for its sustainable design, construction and operation initiatives.
Another recently completed project was an extensive Energy Conservation Project that will improve infrastructure efficiencies and reliability for many years to come. This project is estimated to reduce our carbon footprint by approximately 650 tons annually and reduce CO2 pollution by 2,400 tons annually. This is equivalent to planting over 59,000 trees or reducing gasoline consumption by 241,000 gallons annually or reducing the number of driving miles by 4.8 million annually. Annual energy savings will equal an approximate 12% for electricity, 10% for natural gas and 6% for water.
The Library Courtyard was completed in 2103. It comprises approximately two acres of usable outdoor space for students, faculty, staff and the community. The Library Courtyard provides collaborative and social spaces, makes the campus more pedestrian friendly and reduces the amount of impervious surfaces.
Established in 2014, the UNTHSC Community Garden comprises 16 plots tended by students and employees to sustainably produce food. A portion of the harvest is donated to local food banks, and expansion plans call for more plots and eventually inviting public participation.
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